Seven people have been sentenced to life in prison for pouring petrol on two women and setting them on fire after accusing them of practicing witchcraft.
The punishment was handed down by the Eastern Cape High Court in Ntabankulu.
Nothethisa Ntshamba and Ntombekhaya Ndlanya, who were cruelly murdered in front of their children, were finally given justice nearly six years later.
The Eastern Cape’s National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that the accused, Lwandiso Mzaza, 29, Lufefe Mzaza, 28, Zithini Rhayisa, 34, Yamkela Nonjojo, 31, Odwa Nonjojo, 34, Anelisiwe Nonjojo, 32, and Mkhonzeni Ngcabangcosi, 24, had been found guilty of two counts of murder and arson.
Luxolo Tyali, an NPA spokeswoman, detailed the case’s merits, claiming that on December 12, 2018, the group of young people attended two meetings, both chaired by Lwandiso Mzaza.
“At this gathering, it was decided that the victims would be burned to death because they were practicing witchcraft.
“They clubbed money and bought petrol to burn the deceased, their houses, and their families.”
That night, Ntshamba was at home with her husband, three children, and her sister Ndlanya.
“While Ntshamba was taking her sister home, they were approached by a mob, assaulted, pummeled with stones, poured with fuel, and then set on fire.
“The group then proceeded to burn the Ntshamba homestead to ashes.”
The suspects, according to the NPA, denied any involvement in the crime.
“Rhayisa, who had confessed to the police, tried to disassociate herself from it, resulting in a trial-within-a-trial. The court deemed the confession admissible.”
According to the NPA, Senior State Advocate Mbulelo Nyendwa said in court that violence against women accused of bogus witchcraft charges was widespread throughout the country, not only in the Eastern Cape.
Tyali made it known: “He (Nyendwa) added that the children of the deceased had not only lost their mothers but had been displaced, fearing for their lives and still carrying the stigma of being called the children of witches by some members of the community.”
