Man sentenced to life imprisonment for cousin’s rape and murder
The Mtunzini High Court has sentenced Mduduzi Msezane to double life imprisonment for the horrific rape and murder of his cousin, Nomvula Mbatha.
Image: File photo
The Mtunzini High Court has handed a double life sentence to a man who raped and murdered his cousin in August 2021 in northern KwaZulu-Natal.
Mduduzi Msezane, 41, was found guilty and sentenced for the rape and murder of his cousin, 24-year-old Nomvula Mbatha, whose half-naked body was discovered in a field in Nongoma.
Mbatha had spent the day with friends, on August 29, and as she was leaving for home she encountered Msezane.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), he raped her and strangled her to death.
The next morning, August 30, a passer-by found her body in the Ezimpakaneni area which falls under the Nongoma policing precinct.
Police were alerted, and a case of rape and murder was opened at KwaNongoma Police Station.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza said Msezane was arrested for the crime on September 15, 2021.
The matter was initially heard at the Pietermaritzburg High Court, but was later provisionally withdrawn pending DNA results.
In June 2022, the results came back and linked Msezane to the crime.
“The investigating officer then secured a warrant of arrest … he was finally arrested in Richards Bay in October 2024.”
In court, the State, led by Advocate Pretty-Girl Thobile Ntsele, presented the DNA evidence as well as testimony from two community members who witnessed Msezane confessing to the crime shortly after Mbatha’s death. The witnesses told the court that the confession had been made voluntarily.
Ntsele also submitted a Victim Impact Statement, compiled by one of Mbatha’s sisters and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Mandisa Paulette Sikakane. The statement described Mbatha as a family-oriented woman who ensured her household’s needs were met.
“We were deeply hurt and shocked when we learned that the accused was responsible for our sister’s death, as we considered him to be our brother.”
The Mtunzini High Court last Thursday sentenced Msezane to life imprisonment for murder and life imprisonment for rape.
His application for leave to appeal both the conviction and sentence was refused.
NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said: “The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter. Curbing the scourge of gender-based violence remains one of the organisation’s top priorities.”