Man sentenced to life after brutally murdering ex, despite protection order

A protection order could not protect a woman from Matiko-Xikaya village in Limpopo from being brutally stabbed 28 times by her ex-boyfriend and father of her three children.

She died as a result of her injuries.

Sibongile Nobela and Jonathan Vukosi Mashale, 35, were in a relationship and had three children together, but they broke up as Mashale was abusing Nobela.

Protection order obtained in Nov 2021

In November 2021, she obtained a protection order against her abusive ex-boyfriend.

The tragedy stuck on New Year’s Eve 2021. Nobela was in the company of her new boyfriend when Mashale arrived.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, Nobela told her new boyfriend to leave and go to his homestead. However, when he was about to leave, he heard her screaming.

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“Upon checking, he found the accused stabbing her with a knife,” Malabi-Dzhangi said.

The new boyfriend ran back to his yard, trying to assist Nobela by calling an ambulance.

“When he came back, he found the accused had stabbed the deceased again, and he managed to chase the accused from the scene; however, she was no longer moving,” Malabi-Dzhangi said.

When the ambulance arrived, the mother was certified dead.

Ex stabbed 28 times

Mashale was arrested and put on trial for murder, violation of the protection order, and an attempt to defeat the ends of justice. He was found guilty by the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane.

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In aggravation of sentence, state advocate Elelwani Mufamadi submitted that Nobela had a right to life and the accused robbed her of it. Mufamadi also said that Mashale did not show any remorse while committing the brutal deed.

Malabi-Dzhangi said that in sentencing, Judge Jane Ngobeni agreed with the state, finding that Mashale’s circumstances were suppressed by the aggravating circumstances and that there were no substantial or compelling reasons to depart from the minimum punishment.

The high court therefore sentenced Mashale to life imprisonment for murder, five years imprisonment on the count of violation of the protection order, and two years’ imprisonment on the count of attempt to defeat the ends of justice. 

The court ordered that all the sentences should run concurrently with the main count of murder.

The NPA welcomed the sentence, with the Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Ivy Thenga, standing firm against gender-based violence and urging that offenders of such crimes be sent to prison.

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