17 February 2026 

NPA SUCCESSFULLY OPPOSES BAIL IN GQEBERHA CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND RAPE CASE 

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has successfully opposed the bail application of 38-year-old Ryno Du Toit in the Gqeberha Magistrates' Court. The accused faces serious Schedule 6 charges, including the rape of a minor as well as multiple offences relating to the possession, creation and distribution of child sexual abuse material. 

17 FEBRUARY 2026 

LIFE AND THREE YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR MURDERERS 

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has sentenced Bheki Gabriel Dube (28) and Sibonelo Bhongo Sibiya (27) to life imprisonment and three years’ imprisonment each following their conviction on charges of murder and malicious injury to property. In December 2024, the two men murdered Busani Khomo (58) in the Mpumalanga area of Hammarsdale. Khomo, a resident of Hammarsdale, was the acting principal at a local high school. 

16 February 2026

LESOTHO NATIONAL SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPE  

16 FEBRUARY 2026 

TRADITIONAL HEALER PLEADS GUILTY TO THE MURDER OF DR MEHLAPE 

16 February 2026 

ASSET FORFEITURE UNIT SECURES RESTRAINING ORDER OF OVER R26 MILLION IN COVID-19 TERS FRAUD MATTER 

The National Prosecuting Authority’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) in Mpumalanga has successfully obtained a restraint order exceeding R26 million against assets belonging to suspects allegedly implicated in fraud related to the COVID-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme (TERS). The order was granted in terms of Section 26 of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court. 

16 FEBRUARY 2026 

LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR RAPIST 

6 February 2026 

MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HIS GIRLFRIEND 

Emalahleni, Mpumalanga – The Emalahleni Regional Court has convicted and sentenced 44-year-old Dingane Solomon Dlamini to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Mamokete Lucia Lechela. The accused and the deceased were in a domestic relationship and lived together in Ogies. Before the fatal incident, the couple had reportedly been involved in a heated argument during which Dlamini assaulted the deceased with open hands and threatened to kill her with poison. 

16 FEBRUARY 2026 

7 x LIFE AND 155 YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR SERIAL RAPIST AND ROBBER 

The High Court of South Africa, sitting at Mtunzini, has sentenced Muzikhona Khehla Khumbulani Mthethwa (33) to seven terms of life imprisonment and an additional 155 years’ imprisonment after he pleaded guilty under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 to multiple serious offences.