Teen gets lengthy sentence for murder
2012-09-26 21:33
Pietermaritzburg - A youth was jailed for 20 years and an accomplice for life on Wednesday for murdering a teenager and injuring two others.
KwaZulu-Natal High Court Judge Johann Ploos van Amstel said there had been no need for the teenager and Mthembeni Ncobela, 28, to kill.
The two stabbed Sabelo Chonco to death in an attack on him and his companions, Nkosikhona and Nthandeni Dlamini, for their cellphones.
Chonco and the Dlaminis had been on their way home from a show in Ixopo on the night of 23 December 2010.
Ploos van Amstel said both accused had previous convictions.
The 17-year-old youth failed to embrace an opportunity to mend his ways afforded by previous lenient sentences.
Both were a danger to society.
The disparity between Ncobela's life sentence and the youth's 20 years was explained by their relative ages, as the youth could have faced 25 years in prison.
Van Amstel said neither had shown remorse.
A third man involved in the murder has since died.
- SAPA
