The killer of Thabiso Sifundo Mhlongo, who was a DUT student, had his sentence reduced by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
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The 15-year prison sentence imposed on former Durban University of Technology (DUT) student Melusi Khoza for killing a fellow student Thabiso Sifundo Mhlongo has been reduced by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Khoza, who was sentenced in September 2023, successfully appealed the sentence. In reconsidering the punishment, the High Court took into account his difficult upbringing as well as the period he had already spent in custody while awaiting trial.
The fatal incident took place on January 7, 2021, at Sterling House, an off-campus residence used by DUT students in Durban. Both Khoza and Mhlongo lived at the residence.
That afternoon, Khoza went to the unit where Mhlongo was staying with his roommate, Siyabonga Dube. Luyanda Dlamini was also visiting them at the time. After greeting Dube and Dlamini, Khoza made a pointed remark that they were sitting with someone who had not greeted him.
Mhlongo replied that Khoza should have greeted him first since he had been the one to enter the room.The exchange angered Khoza. He approached Mhlongo, brushed the top of his head back and forth, and referred to him as “a boy”.
As Mhlongo stepped back, Khoza quickly grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him between the shoulder and neck. He then fled the scene, placing the knife in his pocket. Khoza was arrested two months later. During the trial, the Durban Regional Court rejected his claim that he had acted in self-defence.
Judges Robin Mossop and Sanele Hlatshwayo noted that the way the charge was framed precluded a life imprisonment sentence, as the murder was not pre-planned and Khoza did not enter the unit armed.
This left 15 years imprisonment as the minimum sentence.
The judges reviewed the pre-sentence report and mitigation evidence presented at the Regional Court. The report detailed that Khoza had suffered severe physical abuse from his mother during his childhood, which eventually led to social services intervention.
He testified that he lived in a shelter for eight years until he completed matric. His attempts to reconcile with his mother were unsuccessful.
Khoza, who was enrolled for a Bachelor’s degree in child and youth care, said he was inspired by his life experiences and wanted to make a positive change in his community.
Judge Mossop observed: “He kept his mind fixed on his studies amidst the turmoil of his personal life and found a way to overcome his own difficulties and matriculate from school with a pass that permitted him to enrol at an institution of higher learning.
“Just like a hero in a Greek tragedy, the appellant’s (Khoza) character has an imperceptible flaw that manifested on January 7 and led to his downfall.”
Mossop dismissed the notion of remorse, stating that a truly remorseful person would not have left Mhlongo to bleed to death, would have surrendered to the police, or pleaded guilty instead of running away.
Judge Mossop said there were substantial and compelling circumstances for the Regional Court to deviate from the minimum sentence.
“They may be found in the spontaneous nature of the offence, the appellant’s youthfulness when he committed the offence, the appellant’s unsatisfactory and tragic childhood, and the fact that the appellant had spent a period of two years and nine months in custody awaiting his trial.”
Stressing the potential for rehabilitation, the judge stated: “There is something worth saving in the appellant, who appears to be an intelligent person.”
He ruled that Khoza must be severely punished for his unacceptable conduct but should not be completely broken, noting that he should have hope of a normal life.
“He is sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment and the sentence is antedated to September 26, 2023,” Judge Mossop ruled.