African National Congress (ANC) KwaDukuza regional secretary Musa Zondi has been sentenced to more than 20 years in jail by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

This was after he, along with his five co-accused, was found guilty of kidnapping, assault and murder by High Court Judge Nkosinathi Chili two weeks ago. This followed the killing of a man in Kranskop in the KZN Midlands in 2015. Zondi was sentenced to an effective 25 years in prison, which includes 14 years for murder.

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A youth league activist for a number of years in the region, Zondi rose to prominence when he was elected as the ANC regional secretary at the party’s elective conference in May this year. The KwaDukuza region covers Stanger and Dolphins Coast and is regarded as one of the key economic nodes outside Durban.

For the past weeks leading to the sentencing, ANC members have packed the high court, but following unruly behaviour from some party members, the judge ordered that only a limited number of people would be allowed to attend the sentencing on Thursday. Public Order Policing members maintained a presence outside the court as the sentencing proceedings unfolded but no incidents were reported.

Party members and leaders from the region who were attending the case refrained from commenting, directing all queries to the provincial office. The ANC provincial spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.

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