A KwaZulu-Natal court has handed down life sentences to two men who murdered their friend after a drinking spree.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said Michael Zipopo Ntobela, 43, and Bheki Maxwell Nzimande, 42, were convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Ezinqoleni Regional Court for the murder earlier this year of Zakhele Xolo, 27.
According to Zwane, on 30 January, at about 3:45am, Xolo had been drinking in a house in Ntaba Ward, Ezinqoleni, with his friends when one of their cellphones went missing.
“The cellphone was found beneath the bed close to him. He was subsequently assaulted by his friends with a hammer, stabbed with nails and dragged out of the house and left about 500 metres away on the roadside,†Zwane said. “He sustained multiple bruises all over his body, as well as head injuries.â€
Ntobela and Nzimande were arrested on the same day and charged with Xolo’s murder.
– African News Agency (ANA)
