A 35-year-old man from KwaMashu has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by the Ntuzuma Regional Court for stabbing his mother 13 times after she did not buy him R200 headsets. 

On Friday, Siboniso Vincent Vundla pleaded guilty to his alternative charge of assault with an intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and he pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of his mom Thuleleni Gertrude Vundla. 

In his plea read by his attorney from Legal Aid, Sakhile Zondi, Vundla said on September 3, 2023, he was at home with his mom. He said they argued with her because she did not purchase the headsets for him, despite his giving her the money. 

“She told me it was too expensive,” Vundla said. 

He said he was due to start working at home, and he needed the headsets urgently. His mom wanted him to borrow the headsets from his cousin. 

He said he was angry and they argued about this with his mom, who hurled insults at him while she was busy sewing clothes.

Vundla said that because of his anger, he went to the kitchen to take a knife and came back to stab his mother countless times. 

“I was annoyed that my mother was not making efforts to help me, and she was acting as if she was not interested in me,” Vundla added. 

He said he intended to stab his mother, and he was not acting in self-defense. 

In asking the court to be lenient on his client, Zondi said Vundla was remorseful of his actions and he apologised to his mother. 

Additionally, Zondi said Vundla has acknowledged that he has a problem and is willing to seek help so he can better control his anger.

He added that Vundla has two children, with the youngest being four years old.

 “He is single and unemployed. He has been in custody from the day he was arrested on  September 3, 2023,” he added. 

Zondi said his client had a previous conviction, but it does not relate to this matter, as he was driving at high speed. He also urged the court not to forget the principle of Ubuntu (humanity). 

The State regional prosecutor, Kaystree Ramsamujh, read the victim impact statement of Thuleleni.

Thuleleni said Vundla was the only boy among four girls; she said his upbringing was good, and they were close.

She said that when Vundla turned 19, he started to change and abuse her, together with his siblings. 

“Living with him was stressful; there was no peace at home. He would demand things to be done for him,” Thuleleni said. 

She said Vundla would have killed him on the fateful day had she not taken the knife from him, which also injured her hand. She said her left hand had been paralysed because of the incident. 

Ramsamujh said society needed to be protected from people like Vundla.

She said Thuleleni could no longer sew clothes as she was a dressmaker. 

“One would expect the accused to have the utmost respect for his mother.” 

She said the medical records showed that the stab wounds were in vital parts of Thuleleni’s body, like the neck, adding that there were no compelling circumstances that would allow the court to deviate from the minimum sentences. 

Magistrate Sibongise Cele said Vundla betrayed the trust of his family as he was the only male in the house.

He said that at one stage, Thuleleni had applied for a domestic order against Vundla, but he failed to respect it.

“You have deprived your mother of a source of income that she was dependent on. Not only did you stab her once, but 13 times. She was lucky to survive the incident,” Magistrate Cele said.

He sentenced him to 10 years and suspended two years, meaning he would spend eight years in prison. Magistrate Cele further declared Vundla unfit to possess a firearm.

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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