Durban — A total of 482 murder cases, with 390 guilty verdicts and 92 acquittals, were finalised in KwaZulu-Natal, “in the past two quarters of 2022/2023”.
This is according to a recent response from the Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services to questions asked about gender-based violence by IFP MP Themba Msimang.
He had asked for details of the murder conviction rate of cases reported at the police station with the highest murder rate in the province, and measures that had been put in place to address the issue, taking into account that the murder rates of women and children has increased by more than 50% and 40% respectively in the province.
In its response, the Ministry said there had been a finalisation rate of 34.1% of outstanding murder cases on the roll, adding: “Femicide Murders: The province has finalised a total of 64 of these cases during 2022/23. Of the 64 cases finalised, 61 were guilty verdicts and three were not guilty verdicts.
“Intimate Partner Femicide: In the 2022/23 performance cycle, the province has been able to finalise a total of 51 of these cases; 50 were guilty verdicts and one was a not guilty verdict.”
Meanwhile, a gruesome intimate femicide trial in the Durban High Court is due to start in May in the Durban High Court.
Sfiso Professor Ndlovu, 46, will appear in court for allegedly killing his estranged wife Khulukazi Ndlovu, 39, and burning her inside her car in April 2020.
Khulukazi had been missing for a few days when her car was found burnt and abandoned in a cemetery in Molweni.
Ndlovu was arrested nearly six months after Khulukazi’s charred body of found.
She had moved out of the marital home in Phoenix and was renting accommodation in the area at the time of her disappearance.
Daily News