A 37-year-old man, Lindokuhle Mbatha, has begun serving four life sentences for the murder of four people, including a local traditional leader in KwaZulu-Natal.
Mbatha was sentenced on Tuesday in the Madadeni Magistrate’s Court following a 2024 attack in the Madlangeni area under the Charlestown policing precinct.
Evidence presented in court showed that Mbatha entered the home of Lucia Mahlaba, a 42-year-old local induna, and fatally shot her, her 22-year-old son Thando Mahlaba, her son’s friend Ayanda Zikhali, 19, and neighbour Shonaphi Mbhatha, 50.
Provincial police spokesperson Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed that one person managed to escape the shooting and raise the alarm. Neighbours who came to assist were also shot and sustained injuries.
Ngcobo described the attack as “brutal and senseless,” noting the devastating impact on the local community.
The sentencing marks the culmination of a high-profile investigation into one of the region’s most shocking violent crimes in recent years, bringing some measure of closure to the families of the victims.