Man sentenced to 18 years after killing girlfriend with amplifier

A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 years’ imprisonment for murdering his girlfriend by hitting her over the head with an amplifier.

Kevin Mdhlovu was sentenced by the Mpumalanga High Court on Friday, after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend Nokubonga Zandile Mbatha.

“In his plea explanation, Mdhlovu admitted that he was in a love relationship with Mbatha since 2012 and had two children together,” NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said. “On the day of the incident, Mbatha visited Mdhlovu in his place of residence travelling all the way from Gauteng Province.”

An argument later ensued after it emerged that Mbatha had an affair, according to the plea explanation. “This angered him as he felt disrespected and humiliated.”

Fell

Mdhlovu then grabbed an amplifier from his sound system and hit Mbatha on her head. Nyuswa said that Mbatha fell to the ground and died.

“He then locked her in the house and left her lifeless body in the said room for three days unattended. On the fourth day, Mdhlovu took the deceased body and buried it in his yard.”

Four months later, Mdhlovu handed himself over to police, confessed to the crimes and also pointed out where the body was buried. In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor, advocate Zwelethu Mata asked the court to take into consideration the nature of the offence.

He said Mbatha was 21 at the time of her death and still had her life ahead of her. He added that when the crime was committed, Mbatha was defenceless and unarmed, therefore a suitable sentence must be imposed to deter future offenders.

The NPA said that acting Judge Johanna Mthimunye remarked that killing of intimate partners is a serious problem.

Mthimunye sentenced Mdhlovu to 15 years’ imprisonment for murder and five years’ imprisonment for defeating the ends of justice. The court ordered two years of the sentence imposed, in respect of the defeating the ends of justice charge, run concurrently with the sentence for murder.