The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday, 8 December 2025, sentenced 33-year-old Thabiso Zondi to three terms of life imprisonment for a triple murder committed in March 2024. The court found him guilty of the murders of Sphamandla Lungisani Mkhize, Simbonge Ntuthuko Msweli, and Sphamandla Ngubane.
The crimes occurred on the morning of 31 March 2024 on Langalibalele Street. According to evidence presented in court, the three deceased victims and a fourth friend were seated inside a parked vehicle when Zondi approached and fired multiple shots at them without speaking. The driver survived with a bullet graze to his arm, but his three friends were fatally wounded.
Investigations by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Murder and Robbery Unit led detectives to Zondi, who was arrested at his residence later that same day. At the time of his arrest, he was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Subsequent ballistic analysis confirmed the firearm was the weapon used in the three murders.
Police established that the motive for the shooting was drug-related.
Zondi was convicted on three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and charges for the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. In addition to the three life sentences for murder, Judge handed down further prison terms: 10 years for attempted murder, 15 years for possession of an unlicensed firearm, and 6 years for the unlawful possession of ammunition.
The sentences will run concurrently.