Marcos Jewellers murderer gets life, mother shares grief with court

“He died protecting me.”

These are the words of Nicola Ann Galanis, whose son Eleftherios (Lefteri) “Marco Junior” Galanis was shot dead during an attempted robbery at the family’s Marcos Jewellers business in Pietermaritzburg in November 2024.

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Almost two years later, the man accused of killing her only child pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Sihle Mkhize (32) pleaded guilty in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday to five charges, including the murder of Galanis and of his fellow accused, Tiso Madutyulwa.

He also pleaded guilty to robbery with aggravating circumstances and the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. Judge Rishi Seegobin then found Mkhize guilty on all five charges.

In her victim-impact statement, Nicola described the devastating effect of losing her only son, who was also her business partner and, she said, her strength.

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“My son was brave. He died protecting me,” she said.

She said the loss had left her facing an overwhelming sense of loneliness.

My husband had already died from Covid and now my only child was taken in a moment of brutality.

“I lost my family, my business and the life we built,” she said.

The family’s business, which Nicola said she and her husband had started 43 years ago, has since closed.

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She said she had been forced to deal with the practical consequences of losing both her son and the business, including managing his estate, selling his home and business equipment, and retrenching staff.

“The business was our profitable livelihood. With this now closed, I have no income,” she said.

Nicola also described the emotional toll of the shooting, saying she continues to experience nightmares and anxiety.

She said Galanis was loved by clients, both young and old, and that strangers in Pietermaritzburg still approach her to offer condolences and tell her how he had touched their lives.

“Our business, Marcos Jewellers, was a place that held our family’s history, our hard work and our pride,” she said.

According to Mkhize’s guilty plea, he met Madutyulwa about a week before the incident.

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On November 14, 2024, he said, he was fetched from Imbali and taken to the Pietermaritzburg CBD, where he was handed a firearm before being dropped off outside Marcos Jewellers at the Parklane Centre.

Mkhize said he realised he was expected to take part in a robbery and entered the shop, where he saw Madutyulwa.

He told the court that when Galanis approached, he saw a firearm on his hip and felt threatened.

Mkhize admitted that he took out his firearm and fired several shots at Galanis, knowing the shots could result in his death.

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Galanis returned fire, injuring Mkhize in the torso and head.

Mkhize has since been wheelchair-bound.

Madutyulwa was also shot during the incident and later died in hospital.

Galanis’s wife, Michelle Bailie, also described the devastating impact his death has had on her and their son.

“Losing your husband, your person; seeing them in that state and not being able to do anything, no one should go through that,” she said.

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Bailie said the reality of her husband’s death continues to affect her daily.

“A sudden question would pop up in my head and I would think, I’ll ask Lefteri when he gets home, then I remember, he’s not coming home,” she said.

Our son and I have had many psychological sessions to try and cope daily with the loss of a loving husband and father.

During sentencing, state counsel Advocate Dheelan Naidoo argued for Mkhize to receive the maximum sentence, and Judge Seegobin agreed.

For the murder of Galanis, he was sentenced to life imprisonment; for the murder of Madutyulwa, 20 years; for the attempted robbery, 10 years; and for two counts of the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, three years.

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All sentences are to run concurrently with the life sentence.