A South African lecturer has been handed a life sentence for killing a Malawian academic who was his workmate.
The Malawian is Gregory Kamwendo who was killed outside his home in 2018. He was the dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand.
The South African lecturer is Selby Nkuna (49) and his accomplice is Oscar Mkhuliseni Mthiyane (53). The two were sentenced on Thursday last week.
According to South African Police, on 22 May 2018 at 5PM , Gregory Kamwendo (53) parked his vehicle outside one of the flats on Durford Road in Empangeni.
While stationary in his vehicle he was shot and killed by two men. He sustained multiple gunshot wounds on the upper body and was declared dead at the scene.
A case of murder was opened for investigation at Empangeni SAPS.
A thorough investigation was conducted by the investigating officer and in November 2018, a breakthrough was made.
The two accused were positively identified and linked to the case. They were tried in court and made several court appearances until they were sentenced.
According to South African media reports, months before the murder Nkuna had threatened to kill Kamwendo for testifying against him (Nkuna) in an assault case at the university. Kamwendo also uncovered the fraudulent awarding of PhDs at the university.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula welcomed the sentence.
“This sentence proves that the long arm of the law will find you wherever you are hiding,” he said.
