Mpumalanga premier approves of life sentence for wife killer

Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane said the life sentence imposed on the convicted ex-cop, Mugiyo Ulrich Mabunda, on Friday befits the crime he committed.
Mugiyo murdered his wife, Tebogo Mabunda, in Stonehenge in 2020. The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court convicted him in June last year.

Mugiyo’s sentencing coincided with the announcement of the country’s third quarter’s crime statistics by the SAPS, which suggest a high prevalence of gun violence in South Africa.

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Mtshweni-Tsipane said the life sentence is in the best interest of many communities whose lives are under threat due to gun violence.

“This punishment recognises the trauma that our communities are going through as a result of gun violence. It further signifies the court’s intolerance towards the perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), of which Mugiyo was one,” she said.

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“According to the crime statistics, 3 144 people were murdered at gunpoint during quarter three of the period under review. Mugiyo’s punishment and his ilk’s will not only flatten the GBVF curve, but gun violence as well, before these degenerate get out of control. Such a sentence meted out against him suggest that our aspiration for a GBVF- and gun-free province is not in vain.