NPA hopes Sandile Mantsoe gets a heavy sentence

Following Karabo Mokoena’s boyfriend, Sandile Mantsoe, being found guilty of her murder by acting judge Peet Johnson in the High Court in Johannesburg yesterday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has said it hopes the convicted murderer’s sentence will be heavy, PowerFM reports.

The NPA’s Phindi Mjonondwane is quoted as saying that what had made the case complex was that since Mantsoe had decided not to testify because his defence felt the state had not proven their case beyond a reasonable doubt, the court had to rely on circumstantial and hearsay evidence.

“This case is a lesson that such evidence does stand in court and do lead to convictions guided of course by the law of evidence and in relation to circumstantial evidence. The state successfully put forward its case,” Mjonondwane is quoted as saying.

Mantsoe’s sentencing proceedings will get under way this morning.

On Wednesday, the court found that the convicted murderer had stabbed Mokoena and tried to cover up the murder by burning her body. He dumped her body in a veld and set her alight in 2017.

Acting judge Johnson also found Mantsoe guilty of defeating the ends of justice and assault to do grievous bodily harm.

The judge rejected Mantsoe’s defence that Mokoena had committed suicide, and also found that his argument that he had been the victim of abuse at Mokoena’s hands was not credible.

Meanwhile, the hashtags Karabo Mokoena and Sandile Mantsoe are trending on Twitter following the verdict handed down yesterday with some users mourning Mokoena’s murder and applauding the judgment.

Other users of the social media platform drew comparisons between Mokoena’s murder to that of Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) student Zolile Khumalo who was shot three times allegedly by her 23-year-old ex-boyfriend.

Zolile, 21-year-old, a  quantity surveying student at MUT, was shot on Tuesday night on campus allegedly by her former partner following what police are describing as a “domestic quarrel”.

The alleged shooter has been arrested, and is expected to appear in court.

Here are some tweets from the hashtags:

It's morons like #SandileMantsoe and #SimkahleKwandyMnisi that one would campaign for #DeathPenalty to be reinstated.

These boys are heartless maan maan maan maan😯😯😯😯.#JusticeForKaraboMokwena🕊🕊🕊#JusticeForZolileKhumalo🕊🕊🕊 pic.twitter.com/6oPXuwdA73

— Uncle Sammy🇿🇦 (@MashSammy) May 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/Ncamikunene/status/991683994960965632

While #SandileMantsoe was found guilty today for murdering #KaraboMokoena. #Zoe was killed by her boyfriend last night at MUT. He then went on to post it on Facebook. Saying "it was mistake" whistle he is trigger happy man as shown on his previous post on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/Yq1Yg4zxxD

— PJ 🇿🇦 (@PJ_Dlamini) May 2, 2018

Justice has been served for #KaraboMokoena .. While we're at it can the same be done for #ZolileKhumalo #RIPZoe 💔 another young woman, shot 3 times and killed by her boyfriend !! 😭 pic.twitter.com/TKVih18E8Y

— Mpho 🌹 (@mphoseroka_) May 2, 2018

Following Mantsoe’s judgment, the EFF said the high level of femicide in the country is proof that South African men are at war with women.

The party welcomed the guilty verdict handed down to Manstoe, saying it is “as a step in the right direction towards finding justice for the high level of femicide facing our country.”

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