Five years ago, shockwaves ripped through the community with the disappearance of 14-year-old Ntokozo Mtsweni.
More shocking news followed when her decomposed body was found on October 21, 2012 and her 17-year-old boyfriend was arrested for her murder.
On Tuesday, January 24 Thabiso Mphuti, now 22-years-old, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for the murder of the young girl.
Judge Tony Thobane concluded the trial by saying Mphuti failed to open up to the court and therefore the court was not told what motivated him to take the life of the young girl on that fateful day.
“Ntokozo’s life was taken senselessly. She must have died a horrific death. The accused was brought up in a stable family but went off the rails because of substance abuse,” the judge said as he referred to a statement read by Mphuti’s lawyer, Mr Tumelo Pilusa.
Thabiso Mphuti (22) was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment on Tuesday, January 24 for the murder of Ntokozo Mtsweni.
In the statement, Mphuti admitted to smoking dagga the day of the murder.
The scale of justice did not topple in Mphuti’s favour as he failed to appear for his court appearance on Monday, December 19. He ran away from home. A few days later on December 29, he phoned his father who picked him up and took him to the police station.
The judge took all of this as well as Mphuti’s age, the fact that he is a first time offender and the time he spent in custody for the murder, into consideration when he prepared for sentencing.
Because he was a youth offender the defence asked for a six year sentence, but state advocate Erik van der Merwe asked for aggravating circumstances to be highlighted and asked for a minimum of 12 years.
Mr Jerry Mtsweni is not happy with the sentence his daughter’s murderer got.
“The accused showed no remorse and he did not show up for his previous court proceeding,” Van der Merwe argued.
Mphuti did not testify in mitigation of sentence and therefore not much is disclosed and little is known of what exactly played out on that day.
A silent tear ran down Ms Helen Mtsweni’s cheek when she relived the horror of the two weeks that followed Ntokozo’s disappearance.
She testified on Monday, January 23 and said her daughter left at approximately 13:00 to visit a friend in Tasbet Park Extension 1 where they were planning to study maths together. But Ntokozo never reached her friend’s house. When she did not return home that evening, her parents started phoning around frantically.
“I phoned Ntokozo’s cell phone several times but it was on voicemail,” Ms Mtsweni said.
Later that evening her husband, Mr Jerry Mtsweni received a message from his daughter’s phone. But it was not the message he had been praying for. Instead a stranger sent him a text message demanding R400 000 ransom for the safe return of Ntokozo.
For the parents the hell of not knowing where their daughter was, became worse when they received another text message from his daughter’s phone wherein the stranger warned them not to go to the police if they value their daughter’s life.
Mphuti, who stays close to the Mtsweni’s came around to the house and enquired if there was any news about Ntokozo.
The perseverance and good investigation by Sgt Lucas Mafora from the Hawks followed Ntokoza’s cell phone signals and it led him to a young man who had Ntokozo’s phone in his possession. He said Mphuti sold him the phone for only R60.
It was only after his arrest that Mphuti, who was a few days shy of 17, showed the police where he left Ntokoza’s body. It was hidden in a reed plantation adjacent to the N12 highway.
“This sentence is not bringing my daughter back. It is not enough…” were the only words Mr Mtsweni uttered as he choked on the emotions after hearing the sentence.
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