An 11-year-old girl was forced to relive the terror of watching armed men invade her home when her victim impact statement was placed before the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday, during the sentencing of convicted mass killer Deon Mathonsi, for the April 2023 homestead attack in Gobho-Gobho, Bulwer. Through a victim impact statement read to the court, the child recounted how she begged Mathonsi and his accomplices not to kill her father during the attack at the Mbambo family’s home. “The killers told her, in a nonchalant manner, ‘Sorry, we have already killed him’,” state advocate Attie Truter said.
The court heard that the child was then forced to enter the house and step over the bodies of those who had already been shot dead, while searching for her father’s wallet to see if there was more money inside. Mathonsi, who appeared before the court for sentencing yesterday, was convicted last year on five counts of murder in connection with the attack, in which Mqapheli Mbelu, Lethukuthula Dumakude, Sphamandla Mbambo, Nkosinathi Cele, and Sibonelo Mbambo were killed. The state told the court that Mathonsi and his accomplices ambushed the Mbambo homestead, shooting family members and neighbours before fleeing the scene.
While Mathonsi’s legal representative urged the court to show mercy, citing his upbringing, age and responsibility towards his seven children, the state argued that the brutality of the crimes and their devastating impact on the victims’ families warranted a life sentence. Judge Siphokazi Jikela said she would take into account both the mitigation arguments and the victim impact statements before delivering sentence. She adjourned the matter to deliver her sentencing judgment on Wednesday.
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