The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Thursday, 19 March 2026, sentenced Andile Wonderboy Ngcobo, Andile Sabelo Shezi, and Mongezi Nyathi to a combined 14 terms of life imprisonment plus an additional 121 years.
The three men were found guilty in connection with a string of crimes that culminated in the killing of multiple members of the Khumalo family in Plessislaer between October 2021 and October 2022.
The series of events began on 3 October 2021, when the trio robbed a man of his firearm in Pietermaritzburg. Two weeks later, three Khumalo brothers were shot in Imbali Unit J, Plessislaer. Two of the brothers died at the scene; one survived.
Detectives from the Provincial Serious and Violent Crime Unit took over the investigation. A breakthrough occurred when the three accused were arrested for possession of three firearms. Ballistic reports linked these firearms to the murders of the two Khumalo brothers, leading to the trio being charged for the killings.
Further investigation linked Ngcobo, Shezi, and Nyathi to ten murder cases, in addition to other offenses including attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and illegal possession of firearms.