Five residents of Duthuni Village, Thizwilondi Reckson Netshituni (25), Fhulufhelo Emmanuel Nemadzivhani (29), Nndanganeni Wilson Moeti (51), Matodzi Ramaremisa (21) and Edwin Ndavheleseni Ligege (40), were sentenced for murder and attempted murder in the Venda High Court on Monday.

The incident relating to the case took place at Duthuni village on March 10, 1996. The court heard that on the day of the incident residents of Duthuni Village gathered at the local Ligege Secondary School premises to discuss issues pertaining the mysterious disappearance of residents.

During the discussions, the residents concluded that the people who were responsible for the disappearance of residents were Mr Edward Nemadodzi (47) and Mr Gilbert Nemadandila (49). The court further heard that the first accused, Reckson Netshituni, left the meeting in his car and went to look for Nemadodzi at his home.

He came back to the meeting later. The court also heard that Netshituni had assaulted Nemadodzi with various objects along the way. On arrival at the meeting, Nemadodzi said that he was not responsible for the disappearance of the local residents and that Mr Gilbert Ne-madandila was the responsible person.

Suddenly, an argument ensued between Nemadodzi and Nemadandila, who was also present at the meeting. While the two were still engaged in an argument, residents started to assault them with various objects. Nemadodzi managed to escape and rushed to his sister’s café nearby, where he locked himself in.

The residents continued to assault Nemadandila, who later fell down and lost consciousness. The angry mod traced Nemadodzi and found him at the café. They continued from where they left off and assaulted him to death. Nemadandila regained consciousness at the Tshilidzini hospital.

After thorough investigations, the police arrested the five men and charged them with murder and attempted murder. They were all found guilty as charged. The first accused, Reckson Netshituni, was sentenced to 10 years for murder and four years for attempted murder.

Netshituni’s four co-accused, Ramaremisa, Moeti, Ligege and Nemadzivhani, were each sentenced to seven years for murder and three years for attempted murder. The sentences were all conditionally suspended for five years.