In a final act of justice for a brutal 2021 crime, the Mtunzini High Court on Thursday, 18 September 2025, sentenced 41-year-old Mduduzi Msezane to two terms of life imprisonment for the rape and murder of 24-year-old Nomvula Mbatha.
The court heard that the body of Nomvula Mbatha was discovered on the morning of 30 August 2021 in the Ezimpakaneneni area under the Nongoma policing precinct. A passer-by found the half-naked woman lying in a field and alerted the authorities. Police were summoned to the scene, and the deceased was subsequently identified.
A case of rape and murder was immediately registered at the KwaNongoma Police Station, triggering an intensive investigation. The breakthrough came on 15 September 2021, when Mduduzi Msezane was arrested in connection with the crime.
The matter was initially brought before the Pietermaritzburg High Court but was later provisionally withdrawn pending the outcome of crucial DNA analysis. The wait for justice stretched for years until June 2024, when the forensic results returned, conclusively linking Msezane to the attack.
With the scientific evidence secured, the investigating officer obtained a warrant of arrest for Msezane. However, the accused had been evading capture. His flight from the law ended in October 2024 when he was tracked down and apprehended in Richards Bay.
The case was then transferred to the Mtunzini High Court. Msezane was subsequently found guilty on both charges. On Thursday, Judge N. Mthembu handed down the ultimate sentence: life imprisonment for murder and a further life imprisonment for rape, ensuring the perpetrator will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
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