Umlazi butcher sentenced to 25 years for ‘hate crime’

Sizwe Sibiya

Nombuso Cele can finally start rebuilding her life after the sentencing of her nephew’s killer.

Mvuyisi Mabhuda, the murderer of budding musician and gay rights activist Lindokuhle Cele, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for stabbing Lindokuhle to death last year.

Lindokuhle was stabbed 21 times by Mabhuda, leaving a knife stuck in his eye.

On 28 October 2020, Scrolla.Africa reported about the murder case which kept getting postponed because of Covid-19 regulations.

“We saw the law playing its role. Lindokuhle will never come back but I have hopes that from today his spirit will rest in peace. He must be happy that his family stood up for him until the end,” said Nombusa.

Speaking on behalf of the LGBT Community in KZN, activist Hlengiwe Buthelezi said that for the first time since she started advocating justice for similar cases she was happy someone has been sentenced for a hate crime. 

“Usually the culprits are sentenced for murder, but this time the judge specifically said he was giving Mabhuda 25 years for committing a hate crime,” she told Scrolla.Africa.

“That made me happy because it was [made clear] that he killed Lindokuhle because he was gay.”

The court also dismissed Mabhuda’s claims that he killed Lindokuhle because Lindokuhle had raped him.

“He [Mabhuda] claimed he was raped in January but he didn’t report it and there were no medical records to indicate that. He didn’t know who raped him, and thought because Lindokuhle was gay, he was the one who raped him,” said Buthelezi.

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