Mpumalanga woman gets life in prison for murdering her husband on Valentine’s Day

A 50-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering her husband on Valentine’s Day in 2017, while the three men who helped her were never found or identified.

Simangele Edith Shongwe was sentenced in the Mpumalanga High Court on Tuesday after being found guilty of kidnapping and murdering her husband, Vusi Mona, who was the principal of Zwelisha Primary School in Mbombela.

According to a statement by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on 14 February 2017, Shongwe and Mona were at their home in KaNyamazane when three unidentified men entered unannounced.

The men took Mona, forced him into his vehicle and drove to Pienaar where his body was discovered the following morning, NPA spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said.

Mona’s body was discovered with gunshot wounds with his legs bound by shoelaces.

Following investigations, Shongwe was arrested and charged.

During the trial, prosecutor Ntsika Mpolweni led evidence of several witnesses showing how Shongwe had orchestrated her husband’s death, Nyuswa said.

“The evidence of a police investigator, who was at crime scene, revealed that there was no forced entry into the house.

“Further, video footage showed how the premises were accessed and Shongwe seemed unshaken after the crime was committed.

“An eyewitness also told the court that she saw people together with Shongwe taking money from Mona’s bag on the day of the incident”.

The three men were never found or identified, Nyuswa added.

Shongwe was found guilty on six counts, including murder, housebreaking with intent to commit a crime, robbery with aggravating circumstances, kidnapping, the illegal possession of firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

“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 the illegal possession of firearm and one year for the unlawful possession of ammunition”.

The court ordered the sentences run concurrently and Shongwe was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in Mpumalanga advocate Matric Luphondo welcomed the conviction and sentence.

“This demonstrates that as an essential service, the prosecution remains operational and had doubled efforts to ensure that violent cases are prioritised and resolved to create a safer community for all the citizens of the province,” Luphondo said.

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