Relatives of five victims who lost their lives in an inferno set by a “selfish” Eastern Cape man were left content after he was sentenced to life imprisonment for each murder on Thursday. Masixole Ndzube, 33, cut a stoic figure in the dock as judge Bulelwa Pakati meted out the sentence. The fire on March 30 2020 claimed the lives of Nobesuthu Mpitimpiti, her daughters Kulakazi and Bathandwa, her grandson Yololwam, a six-month-old child of Bathandwa’s, and local pastor Samkelo Mdingane at.
A day before the incident, Masixole Ndzube had travelled 50km to the nearest town of Fort Beaufort to buy five litres of petrol, to set the house on fire.
Heart-rending cries sounded through the Bhisho high court on Wednesday as relatives of five people who were burnt to death in Joe Slovo village in Seymour nearly two years ago pinned their hopes on the judge for a just sentence. Masixole Ndzube, 33, was convicted last week for the murders, arson and assault to do grievous bodily harm by judge Bulelwa Pakati.
A Seymour man has been convicted of the murders of his girlfriend and four others, including a six-month-old baby; after torching their house. The deadly inferno happened on March 30, 2020. Masixole Ndzube, 32, kept a cool composure as Judge Bulelwa Pakati lambasted him for his defence during trial in the events which led to the death of Nobesuthu Mpitimpiti and her two daughters, Kulakazi, who was Ndzube’s girlfriend, and Bathandwa, along with her baby boy Yololwam.