A Pietermaritzburg High Court judge sentenced a man to 13 years' imprisonment on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to murdering his 86-year-old paternal grandmother and dismembering her body.
Judge Ron McLaren said that 20-year-old Sibonakaliso Hlophe's remorse and the fact that the State had accepted that the killing was not premeditated, had been taken into account.
He said the fact that Hlophe had cut open his grandmother's chest and abdomen, and had removed her liver and gall bladder to sell for muthi were not considered an aggravating factor in the case.
Hlophe said in a statement that he had realised that he needed to run away after the murder. However, he had had no money and then thought of selling her body parts to a muthi practitioner to fund his escape.
On February 3 he had argued with his grandmother, Gusumbane Kate Hlophe. He claimed she had shouted at him and told him that he was causing problems. He had become so angry that he had picked up a knife and used it to stab her in the chest.