Former DA Councillor Receives Life Sentence for Fatal Arson That Killed Fiancée and Three Children

KEY POINTS

• Former DA councillor Michael Buthelezi received four life sentences plus 15 years for murdering his fiancée and three children by arson in Bergville (October 2023).

• Evidence revealed prior death threats and fabricated police statements, with 11 witnesses (including relatives and first responders) testifying against him.

• The NPA highlighted the verdict as a landmark in combating GBV, citing a victim impact statement describing enduring family trauma.

The Ladysmith Regional Court sentenced ex-Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Michael Buthelezi (48) to four life terms plus 15 years on May 30, 2025, for the October 2023 murder of his fiancée Khombosile Khoza and their three children in a deliberately set house fire.

The sentencing marks the culmination of a 19-month legal process that exposed a history of domestic strife and calculated deception.

On October 29, 2023, at approximately 2 a.m., neighbors in Bethany, Bergville, reported flames engulfing the two-room dwelling shared by Buthelezi, Khoza, and their children aged 2, 8, and 10.

According to IOL, eyewitnesses described kicking down the door amid screams, rescuing Buthelezi and his eldest child while Khoza and the two younger children perished inside. The surviving 10-year-old succumbed weeks later to severe burns under palliative care.

Buthelezi, treated for minor injuries, initially claimed the fire resulted from an electrical fault. However, police uncovered contradictions in his testimony, including evidence that he had threatened weeks earlier to “burn [Khoza] alive” according to a relative’s testimony.

Deception unraveled as witnesses expose relationship with Buthelezi

Prosecutor Shika Siverpersad presented 11 witnesses who systematically dismantled Buthelezi’s narrative.

Paramedics confirmed accelerant traces at the scene, while relatives testified to chronic domestic abuse. Crucially, investigators proved Buthelezi filed two false police statements about the incident.

“Buthelezi’s accounts were proven entirely fabricated, leading directly to his arrest,” stated KZN NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara. The trial revealed Buthelezi – then a sitting DA representative – had exploited his community standing to deflect suspicion. The DA confirmed his immediate expulsion after charges were filed, calling the crimes “profoundly antithetical to our values.”

During sentencing, Magistrate Ndlovu emphasized the “premeditated cruelty” of trapping a family in a locked home before ignition. A victim impact statement from Khoza’s father, facilitated by court officer Khulekani Mthembu, detailed the family’s trauma: “He stole my daughter’s dreams and my grandchildren’s futures. I live with panic attacks since that night.” Buthelezi received life imprisonment for each murder, five years for arson, and five years each for two counts of defeating justice (to run concurrently). He was declared unfit to possess a firearm. The NPA reaffirmed its commitment to prosecuting gender-based violence (GBV), noting South Africa’s femicide rate remains five times the global average.