A Durban University of Technology student was found guilty of killing a fellow student in 2021.
Melusi Khoza, now 23, was convicted on Thursday by the Durban Regional Court of the murder of Sifundo Mhlongo.
Mhlongo was fatally stabbed at a student residence on Yusuf Dadoo Street in Durban on January 7, 2021.
At the time, police said Mhlongo died on the scene after sustaining a stab wound to the neck.
Provincial police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed that the assailant was also a student at the same campus.
He was on the run from police for two months and was eventually arrested in Isipingo, in the south of Durban.
Khoza, who has been an awaiting trial prisoner since his arrest, after abandoning his bail application, denied any wrongdoing.
Khoza said that it was Mhlongo who strangled him first and that he stabbed him in self-defence.
He told the court that he had aimed at his hand and was shocked that he stabbed his neck.
However, State prosecutor Shenaaz Hoosen argued that Khoza had intended to kill the deceased.
“According to State witnesses, there was no provocation on the part of the deceased, and the accused and deceased were arguing about who should have greeted who. It was Khoza who had approached the deceased and stabbed him,” Hoosen said.
In passing judgment, magistrate Shoba Maharaj rejected Khoza’s testimony in its entirety, citing it as false beyond any reasonable doubt.
The matter was adjourned to September for pre-sentence reports.
IOL News