Son jailed for hacking his abusive dad to death

Pietermaritzburg - An enraged son who hacked his father to death with a panga was jailed for an effective 10 years by the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.

Acting Judge P Singh said there were compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed sentence of 15 years for a first offender.

He suspended five years of the 15-year sentence imposed on Qhubekeni Ndawonde, 22, who admitted murdering his father Khubekeni Ndawonde in the Estcourt district in December 2014.

Singh said that the father had abused his son - when drunk he sjambokked him so cruelly that he was scarred and sometimes ran away from his dad.

Qhubekeni had reported the matter to the police, but Singh said they had failed him by telling him that it was a domestic affair so they could not help him. 

Singh said that if the police had responded differently, the tragedy might never have happened.

Qhubekeni worked for a blockmaker and earned R1 400 a month, with which he supported his father, stepmother and sisters of 12 and nine years.

His father did not work.

On the fatal day, the father taunted Qhubekeni who had used his money to buy shoes for his sisters.

This meant there had been no money for food.

His father had told him to “eat the shoes”.

Qhubekeni grabbed a panga and slashed his father four times, killing him.

Singh said that he had not run way, but reported the matter to his grandmother, whereupon he was arrested and confessed.

He had not tried to take the panga away from the scene.

He had said that he did not know "what came into him" and that he had made a terrible mistake.

Singh said that Qhubekeni would always be haunted by the fact that he had killed his father.