An attorney and acting magistrate, who abandoned his client on the day his mass murder trial was due to begin, has been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, or a R10 000 fine, for contempt of court. 

KZN High Court (Durban) Judge Jacqueline Henriques told Sithembiso Nkatha that handing down a sentence against him was ‘one of the difficult tasks I have had to perform in my years in the judiciary’, noting that he was a qualified practitioner with years of standing, reports News24.

Nkatha failed to appear when the trial of alleged hitmen Sbonelo Shangase and Thalente Mkhize was scheduled to begin on 21 July 2025.

They face 30 charges, including 15 murders, among them the January 2022 execution-style massacre of six people in Amaoti, Inanda.  The trial has since been rescheduled for October 2026.

Henriques said after the contempt of conviction was handed down in February, Nkatha continued to show disregard for the court and failed to pitch up for his next scheduled appearance on 30 March.

This after he missed an October appearance, during which judgment was initially meant to be delivered, prompting a postponement to February, when he then arrived late.

In mitigation, Nkatha – who wound up representing himself after abandoning a Legal Aid application – submitted an affidavit from traditional healer Khayelihle Shabalala, which the court found contained hearsay that Nkatha had reported to him.

His office manager also confirmed in another affidavit that Nkatha had attended the hospital with a psychologist.

Henriques noted, however, that both affidavits were drafted by Nkatha and contained inaccuracies.

Nkatha claimed he had been poisoned and attacked, resulting in trauma, and was sleeping at his office, according to News24. He said he was experiencing severe financial hardship, could not afford a fine, and asked that incarceration not be considered.

But Henriques was unmoved. She said Nkatha ‘maintains his innocence and doesn’t accept the court ruling in contempt’, adding: ‘This demonstrates that he doesn’t accept any responsibility nor accept that he did anything wrong, and has shown no remorse.’

In sentencing him, Henriques drew on the Constitutional Court’s judgment in former President Jacob Zuma’s contempt case, which stressed that ‘the orders of court have to be obeyed unless set aside’ and that ‘complete denial of judicial mechanisms creates chaos and disorder’.

She said the court needed ‘to send an unequivocal message that court orders must be obeyed’.

A copy of the judgment is also set to be sent to the Legal Practice Council and the Magistrates’ Commission for consideration of any further action against Nkatha.

Full News24 report