Mantoa’s killer sentenced to 22 years in jail
Although some may be of the opinion that justice has been served, this sentence has been a bitter pill to swallow for Mantoa James’s family who believe that a harsher sentence should have been handed down to Bango for this horrendous act. Bango allegedly kept Mantoa’s body in the shack for days before he finally decided to dig her grave.
SHARPEVILLE. – Thulani Bango was recently sentenced to 22 years in prison for the gruesome murder of his girlfriend Mantoa James (44), who was buried in a shallow grave behind their shack in December 2020.
Although some may be of the opinion that justice has been served, this sentence has been a bitter pill to swallow for Mantoa James’s family who believe that a harsher sentence should have been handed down to Bango for this horrendous act. Bango allegedly kept Mantoa’s body in the shack for days before he finally decided to dig her grave.
Aletta Thaane, a member of James’s family says: “Mantoa was murdered after we dropped her off on Christmas Day. We dropped her off at Bango’s house after attending a family gathering.”
Though this was their first time seeing Mantoa’s home, the family claims the two lived together. The family says that after that night, they repeatedly attempted to contact Mantoa without success.
“When we finally confronted Thulani about Mantoa’s disappearance after 10 days, he denied ever knowing her whereabouts.
“We then told him that we were going to the police station. He got frightened when we said that and confessed during an interrogation at the station.”
According to Thaane, law enforcement then dug up the decomposing body from Bango’s residence.
“As a family, we believe that the 22 years Bango was given is not enough for the gruesome act of killing our daughter. We believe that he should have been given a harsher sentence for what he did.”
Investigating Warrant Officer Shadrack Qaleni from the Sharpeville SAPS has been commended for his relentless work on securing justice in this case.
