Social worker calls for direct imprisonment for ‘unremorseful’ Makhanda paramedic

By Aphiwe Ngowapi

Convicted murderer Nomsa Seyisi should be sentenced to direct imprisonment because she has shown no remorse and is not fit for rehabilitation.

This was the recommendation of a Makhanda social worker to the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday.

Nomonde Stamper, who worked for the Department of Correctional Services before becoming a private social worker, told the court Seyisi, 48, did not take responsibility for her actions.

Seyisi still denied killing her cousin’s boyfriend or attempting to kill her cousin. She was convicted of the murder of Thembinkosi Wambi and the attempted murder of her cousin, Zukiswa Frans.

In convicting Seyisi, the court found her complicit in a scheme to eliminate Wambi and Frans, allegedly linked to an insurance policy taken out by Seyisi’s associate, Buntu Melani, on Frans’ life.

The court had heard that a month before the attacks on Frans and Wambi, Seyisi had worked with her co-worker to arrange for an insurance policy to be taken out for Frans.

Wambi, 41, was shot and killed on 25 August 2023 and Frans was shot and injured on the hand, and survived after playing dead.

Seyisi had also been charged with robbing Wambi of his Stylo cellphone, but was acquitted of robbery with aggravating circumstances. She was arrested a month after the incident, but her two alleged accomplices have not been found.

The case sent shockwaves across Makhanda.

Seyisi had pleaded not guilty to all the charges and maintained her innocence during her two-hour interview with Stamper.

Stamper told the court that when assessing convicts, one of the questions asked is whether they admit their guilt. She said Seyisi maintained that she was not guilty.

Stamper said this indicated Seyisi did not understand the seriousness of the offenses she was charged and found guilty of. The social worker said Seyisi was not a suitable candidate for rehabilitation.

She said the former paramedic needed to acknowledge the seriousness of the offenses, and also understand their impact on the victim for her to be rehabilitated. Stamper said if she did not acknowledge and take responsibility for her actions, Seyisi would not gain anything from rehabilitation programmes.

Stamper said if she was to go back to the community, it was likely that Seyisi would commit the same crime again because she did not understand its seriousness.

State advocate Jan Engelbrecht asked Stamper, who had vast experience as a social worker at the Correctional Services department, if it would be possible to rehabilitate someone who did not acknowledge their offenses. Stamper said: “The focal point is for someone to take responsibility for their actions before they can be rehabilitated.”

The case was postponed until today (Friday) for Engelbrecht and defence advocate, Charles Stamper, to make submissions on the social worker’s report.