The Madadeni Regional Court has sentenced a 37-year-old man to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the murder of his partner in October 2023 in the Osizweni area.
According to Natasha Ramkisson-Kara (NPA Regional Spokesperson), the accused shared two children with the 34-year-old deceased.
On the day of the incident, the deceased had gone to visit him, and she took the children with her. In his plea, the accused said that the deceased asked him for money to pay off a loan shark.
He said that they got into an argument, and she stabbed him once in the stomach. He said he dispossessed her of the knife, and she insulted him. He then noticed a bush knife on the verandah floor and lost control of his emotions.
He used the blade and the bush knife to stab and hack her multiple times. He did this in the presence of one of their children.
The deceased’s screams were heard by neighbours who rushed to the scene to find the accused hacking the deceased.
They were not able to intervene, as the accused had locked the steel gate that enclosed the verandah where he was attacking her.
Some neighbours captured the attack on their cellphones. The accused then ran into the house and locked himself in.
The neighbours broke the padlock and gained access to the verandah and, subsequently, the house. The accused was found with a minor stab wound.
In aggravation of sentence, Prosecutor Dan Motha led the testimony of the deceased’s mother, who said that both the couple’s minor children were present on the day of the incident, with the older one witnessing the hacking of his mother.
The incident has left the child traumatised, and the child is not coping well. The woman also said that she is a pensioner who is struggling financially as she must now care for both children.
The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment, and he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The NPA welcomes this successful prosecution. Working together with our partners in law enforcement, we will strive to turn the tide against gender-based violence and femicide.
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