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Pupil gets 10 years for killing teacher

A Grade 10 pupil, who stabbed his teacher to death in front of his classmates, was yesterday sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment.

A Grade 10 pupil, who stabbed his teacher to death in front of his classmates, was yesterday sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment.

KwaZulu-Natal Judge President Vuka Tshabalala sentenced 18-year-old Mazwi Mkhwanazi to 15 years, five of which were suspended. The courtroom was packed to capacity. The Thornwood Secondary School pupil had earlier pleaded guilty to stabbing his teacher, 28-year-old Nokulunga Ndala, in front of his classmates last March.

According to the SABC, Mkhwanazi had stabbed Ndala because she had humiliated him in front of his classmates by accusing him of cheating during a Geography test.

Ndala was stabbed twice in the neck with a knife that police said had a 20cm-long blade. Mkhwanazi fled with classmates in hot pursuit while Ndala bled to death.

Police used the 18-year-old's mother to track him down. She called him on his cellphone and he was persuaded to give himself up after he initially threatened to take his own life. Police found the bloodied knife in his possession.

l Meanwhile, a KwaZulu-Natal principal yesterday spoke out against those who set her school alight last week, saying she believed the culprits were pupils from her school.

"I believe the fire was started by pupils who did not do well in their examinations," Phumelele Zungu said.

A blaze ripped through the administration office and the principal's office of Siyelulama High School in Mtubatuba's Thandanani area early on Friday. Three other classrooms were also burnt. - Sapa

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