Durban: A KwaZulu man who pleaded guilty to brutally killing his stepsons in March has received a double life sentence.
Siyanda Dion Khumalo was convicted and sentenced by Judge Thoba Poyo Dlwati in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday.
Khumalo pleaded guilty to the murder of his stepsons Amkela Zenda, 14, and his six-year-old brother Sandiso on March 31, 2022.
In his guilty plea, handed to the court by Legal Aid attorney Amanda Hulley, Khumalo said he had been in a relationship with Vamisele Zenda for about two years, and they had been living together in her house in the Qinabout area, near Port Shepstone on the KZN South Coast.
Khumalo said he lived with Vamisele and her three children in the house.
He said her third child passed away during the course of their relationship.
He told the court a month before the killing, Vamisele asked him to leave his job and to babysit her children, and she would pay him R400, to which he agreed.
Speaking about their relationship, he said both he and Vamisele grew apart and argued often, citing she had changed after the death of her child.
Khumalo said during this time, he got another girlfriend, and she was expecting his child.
He said on March 30, 2022, Vamisele came home with the police and served him with a protection order, and he was told to leave the house.
Khumalo said he became angry because he had nowhere to go, and his family had disowned him because he had stopped sending them money while working at Vamisele’s request.
He said he had asked her for the R400 she had owed him, and she refused.
“On March 31, my girlfriend told me she had a miscarriage and needed money for medical attention. I called Vamisele again, and she refused to give me the money.”
He said he felt helpless and decided to seek revenge.
Khumalo said when he arrived at the house, Vamisele was not there, but her two sons were home.
He said he entered the home and saw Amkela.
He picked up a bush knife and struck him on his neck, and he fell to the ground and appeared lifeless.
Khumalo said he noticed the six-year-old boy was asleep on a bed and decided to not disturb him. Instead, he decided that he would set the house on fire with both children inside.
Khumalo said he set both beds alight using matches and ran away from the scene.
He stayed in an abandoned house until he was arrested on April 5, 2022.
Khumalo was also convicted on a charge of arson.
In a victim impact statement handed to the court by Senior State Advocate Mbongeni Mthembu, the family said they were traumatised.
IOL