Two GBV perpetrators sentenced to a combined 23 years imprisonment
Provincial Police Commissioner, Lt Gen Nneke Ledwaba says the sentences send a strong message that crime does not pay.
LIMPOPO – Two men, aged 51 and 25 have been sentenced to eight and 15 years imprisonment, respectively for gender-based violence crimes in the Mahwelereng Regional Court, outside Mokopane on Friday.
51-year-old, Eric Manu Mahloatshaba was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Kedibone Elisa Makhura (53) on 30 March 2019, and sentenced to an effective eight years’ imprisonment for murder, Police Spokesperson Col Moatshe Ngoepe confirmed.
He explained that the son of the deceased reported that his mother had been fighting with his stepfather and during the altercation, Mahloatshaba hit Makhura with a hammer on the back of her head, causing serious injuries.
“The victim was taken to a local clinic at Ga-Taueatswala village near Steilloop for medical treatment but she succumbed to her injuries on arrival,” his statement read.
He added that Mahloatshaba was arrested shortly after the incident.
In a separate sentencing, Joy Seliki Ngwepe was sentenced to an effective 15 years’ imprisonment for raping a 24-year-old woman on 3 April 2018.
Ngoepe explained that the victim left home to a local tavern in Nelly village where she resdied, until midnight and eventually decided to walk back home alone. “Along the way, the accused emerged and revealed his identity before dragging her to his residence and raped her.”
Ledwaba has welcomed these long jail terms and commended the detectives on “a job well done”.
Earlier this week, the MEC for Transport and Community Safety MEC, Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya committed her department to following up on all unresolved gender-based violence related cases in the province.
Lerule-Ramakhanya, together with the ANC Women’s League in Limpopo, led a silent demonstration in extension 78, outside Seshego on Thursday to call for harsher sentences against perpetrators of extreme violence against women.
