In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Lingelihle in Nxuba, formerly Cradock, an Eastern Cape couple and their three accomplices have been handed lengthy jail sentences for the murder of a man and the attempted murder of a woman.
The motive behind the crime was to claim funeral policies taken out on the victim’s life, with the perpetrators going to extreme lengths to execute their plan.
Zizipho Pani, 34, and her husband Siyathemba James, 39, employed the victim, who lived on the same street as them. In October 2022, the victim and her boyfriend were attacked in their home.
The boyfriend was fatally stabbed, while the woman was stabbed and raped but managed to survive. She later testified against her attackers, providing crucial evidence that led to their conviction.
This week, the High Court of Makhanda, sitting in Nxuba, sentenced Zizipho Pani, Siyathemba James, Zizipho’s relative and hitman Sinethemba Pani, 34, and SizweSethu Jonas, 34, to life imprisonment plus 15 years.
Masixole Sokoyi, 19, who was a minor during the commission of the offences and found to have raped the woman, received an effective 25 years’ imprisonment. Judge Nozuko Mviko emphasized the necessity of imposing deterrent sentences for such heinous crimes.
According to National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, Zizipho Pani was the mastermind behind the plot.
She had taken out funeral policies with Standard Bank and Absa in 2021 that would pay R200,000 upon the victim’s death.
With the promise of a R50,000 bounty, she enlisted the help of the men to carry out the murder. Despite being left for dead, the woman managed to survive and identify her attackers, leading to their eventual capture and sentencing.
