The Mthatha High Court, sitting in Port St Johns, has sentenced 24-year-old Mzomhle Matakhiya to five life terms plus an additional ten years imprisonment for a violent rampage in June 2025 that left three people dead.
Matakhiya, a resident of Ngqayimbana locality in Siphaqeni A/A, was sentenced on Thursday, 12 March 2026. He faced charges stemming from the incident on 23 June 2025, including three counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and one count of malicious damage to property.
According to the judgment, on the day of the incident, Matakhiya fatally stabbed three individuals: his 40-year-old mother, his 20-year-old younger sister, and a 97-year-old woman identified as the grandmother of his mother’s boyfriend. He also stabbed his mother’s boyfriend and a neighbor, both of whom survived the attack.
Matakhiya was arrested on the same day, and the weapon used in the stabbings was recovered by police. He was denied bail following opposition from Flagstaff detectives.
His first appearance in the Mthatha High Court was on 2 March 2026. He was convicted on Tuesday, 10 March 2026.
The court handed down the following sentences on 12 March 2026:
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Count 1: Malicious damage to property – 10 years imprisonment.
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Counts 2, 3, 4: Murder – Life imprisonment on each count.
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Counts 5 and 6: Attempted murder – Life imprisonment on each count.
The court ordered that the sentences for Counts 2 through 6 run concurrently with the sentence for Count 1. Matakhiya was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.