Former DUT student sentenced to 15 years for stabbing fellow student to death over greeting

Former Durban University of Technology (DUT) student Melusi Khoza, 23, has been sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for the murder of a fellow student in an argument about who should have greeted the other first. 

Khoza was sentenced in the Durban regional court after he was found guilty last month of stabbing Sifundo Thabiso Mhlongo, 19, in January 2021. 

Khoza got into an argument with Mhlongo, pulled out a knife and stabbed him before fleeing the scene. Mhlongo bled to death. 

Khoza remained on the run for a few months but was arrested after police received information regarding his whereabouts.

National Prosecuting Authority KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said prosecutor Shenaaz Hoosen led the eyewitness testimonies of two people who were present when the stabbing took place.

Hoosen handed in a victim impact statement, compiled by Mhlongo’s mother and facilitated by court preparation officer Prudence Geraud. 

“In her statement, the woman said she had high hopes for her son to get a tertiary qualification and improve the quality of their lives. She said she was reliant on him and his death had a devastating effect on her and their family.”

Ramkisson-Kara said as Khoza was charged with a murder that was not planned or premeditated, the court found no compelling or substantial circumstances which justified a deviation from the minimum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment. 

Mhlongo was a second-year human resources student. His friends described him as a smart person who loved his books as he was always indoors.  

TimesLIVE