Man Pleads Guilty to Shooting, Decapitating Mother and Sister Amid Alleged Bewitching
A 54-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal has confessed to the tragic act of killing his mother and sister, attributing his actions to a belief that they had “bewitched him”.
Elias Delisani Mkhize pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court with representation by attorney Mzothandayo Tengwa.
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The incident occurred on December 20, 2023, in the Luzizi area of Mid-Illovo, uMgungundlovu district.
Mkhize admitted to shooting his mother, Mathithi Mkhize, and sister, Celiwe Mkhize, before decapitating them and disposing of their heads in a toilet pit system.
In his confession before Judge Phumelele Shoba, Mkhize stated that he witnessed his mother and sister leaving his home in the early hours of the murder, clad in black attire.
“I admit that I suspected that they were at my place to bewitch me and I took my unlicensed firearm and followed them,” he said.
“I found them at my parental home which is not far from my house and shot at them.”
Mkhize said he then took a bush knife that he found in the house and chopped their heads off and concealed it in the toilet pit.
“I admit that in respect of all counts I do not have a valid defence in law for my actions and that I had [the] intention to kill both deceased as I suspected them of practising witchcraft against me.”
In a victim impact statement presented to the court by State Advocate Melumzi Gula, Bongani Mkhize, the brother of Elias Delisani Mkhize, expressed the profound tragedy that befell their family during the Christmas.
