Mona’s wife sentenced to life for murder
The evidence of a police investigator who was at crime scene revealed that there had been no forced entry into the house.
The Mpumalanga High Court of South Africa sentenced Simangele Edith Shongwe (50) to life imprisonment and 28 years for the murder of her husband, Vusi Mona, the late principal of Zwelisha Primary School.
Shongwe was found guilty on six counts namely, murder, housebreaking with intent to commit crime, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.
On the evening of February 14, 2017, Shongwe and Mona were in their home in KaNyamazane when three unidentified men entered unannounced. The men took Mona, forced him into his vehicle and drove to Pienaar.
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His lifeless body was discovered the following morning with gunshot wounds. His legs and feet had been tied with shoelaces. After the gruesome discovery, investigations ensued and Shongwe was arrested.
State prosecutor, Ntsika Mpolweni, led evidence of several witnesses showing how Shongwe had orchestrated the death of her husband.
The evidence of a police investigator who was at crime scene revealed that there had been no forced entry into the house.
Furthermore, evidence of video footage showed how the premises was accessed and Shongwe seemed unshaken after the crime was committed. An eyewitness told the court that she saw people with Shongwe taking money from Mona’s bag on the day of the incident.
The three men were never found or identified.
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In aggravation of sentence, the state requested the court to take into consideration the nature of the offence. Mpolweni stated that society requires protection from the courts from people like Shongwe in order to gain confidence in our criminal justice system. He added that when the incident happened, Mona was unarmed and defenceless therefore a prescribed minimum sentence must be imposed to deter future offenders.
During sentencing, Judge Brian Mashile, concurred with the prosecutor that a hefty sentence should be imposed on the accused. He sentenced Shongwe to five years for housebreaking with intent to commit crime, 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, two years for kidnapping, life imprisonment for murder, five years for illegal possession of firearm and one year for unlawful possession of ammunition.
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The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and Shongwe was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The acting director of public prosecutions, Adv Matric Luphondo, welcomed the conviction and sentence. “This demonstrates that as an essential service, the prosecution remains operational and has doubled efforts to ensure that violent cases are prioritised and resolves to create a safer community and for all the citizens of the province.”
