The Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday has sentenced Thabiso Zondi (33) to three terms of life imprisonment for triple murder committed on March 2024 in Pietermaritzburg.
The South African Police Service(SAPS) said astute investigation by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Murder and Robbery Unit detectives has proven a triple murder case beyond any reasonable doubt, and on Monday, 8 December 2025, the Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced Thabiso Zondi (33) to three terms of life imprisonment after the court found him guilty of the murders of Sphamandla Lungisani Mkhize, Simbonge Ntuthuko Msweli, and Sphamandla Ngubane, who were all shot and killed on 31 March 2024 in Pietermaritzburg.
The police revealed that on that fateful morning, four friends were seated inside a vehicle which was parked along Langalibalele Street when Zondi approached them and fired several shots towards them without saying a word. The driver of the vehicle narrowly escaped the shooting, with a bullet grazing his arm; however, his three friends were all shot and killed.
The police mentioned that Zondi was arrested at his residence after he was found with firearm and ammunition, and the ballistic tests linked that the firearm to the murder of three friends.
"Provincial Murder and Robbery detectives combed the crime scene, and investigations pointed them to Zondi, who was arrested on the same day at his place of residence. He was found in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Ballistic reports confirmed that the firearm was the weapon used in the three murders. Zondi was duly charged with three counts of murder, attempted murder, as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Police investigations uncovered that the motive of the killing was drug-related.
Apart from the three life imprisonment sentences, Zondi was further sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for attempted murder, 15 years in jail for possession of an unlicensed firearm, and six more years for unlawful possession of ammunition," the SAPS in KZN concluded.