A Pietermaritzburg house robber who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing a pensioner in December 2023 has been jailed to an effective 25 years behind bars.

Phakamani Duncan Ngcobo, 33, pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg High Court to the murder of 72-year-old Rajendra Chetty.

In addition to murder, Ngcobo represented by Legal Aid SA attorney Mzothando Tengwa, pleaded guilty to charges of housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

In his plea, the accused said he entered the pensioner’s home in Ginger Road in Northdale on December 9, 2023.

He said that he together with another person, who had worked for Chetty, had planned to break into the victim’s home and rob him.

Ngcobo said when they arrived at the property they broke the burglar gate and door and entered.

They admitted to stealing his cellphone which they sold for R350.

The accused said when Chetty resisted, they stabbed him to death.

Post mortem results revealed that Chetty died as a result of several stab wounds.

In his judgment, Judge J Mossop said that a guilty plea was not always an indication of remorse.

“A guilty plea in the face of an open and shut case is, at best, a neutral factor.”

The judge said this was not the case as there were no eyewitness and even though the neighbours heard screams, where not able to identify the two men seen running from Chetty’s yard.

However, the Judge said the only thing the accused took from the scene was a cellphone which they sold for R350.

“The person who gave it to you purchased if for his girlfriend.

“She apparently used it with the deceased’s WhatsApp application still active on it.

“The stolen telephone was then traced through that application back to you.”

The Judge also noted the accused “disgraceful” record of housebreaking.

“Your criminal record is most distressing, in fact is it disgraceful you have been convicted no less than five occasions.”

The court heard that Ngcobo had spent 18 months at most behind bars for these crimes.

In a victim impact statement handed to the court by State Advocate Zinhle Sokhela, both Chetty’s children expressed deep grief they experienced as a family following his death.

Chetty’s daughter Anneline said she had purchased the cellphone for her father.

“Would he have been killed if I have not given it to him?”

IOL News