Ex-boyfriend jailed 25 years for murder of aspiring doctor
While her ex-boyfriend faces 25 years behind bars, Aphile Tunce’s family says true healing remains out of reach.
The family of 19-year-old Aphile Tunce has found closure after her former boyfriend, Kgetho Mabitla (25), was convicted of murder and kidnapping.
The Johannesburg High Court sentenced him to 25 years in prison on May 8. Aphile, a Ramaphosa informal settlement resident and a matric learner with dreams of becoming a doctor, was murdered on September 14, 2024.
The tragedy left her mother, Nonzwakazi Sontshi, heartbroken and seeking answers.
“I he spends the full 25 years in jail and doesn’t get parole. I would have wanted him to get a life sentence.”Till this day, I still have no answers about why he did what he did. When my child went missing, I knew it involved the ex-boyfriend because of how he treated my daughter during and after their relationship.
”Sontshi described Aphile as a peaceful child who loved school and was passionate about her future.
”She was my only child. We were best friends. I miss her every day. I am not healed.
”Timeline of events
According to the Reiger Park SAPS, spokesperson, constable Johannes Msimanga, officers attended an inquest scene on September 18, 2024, in Ramaphosa informal settlement, where the body of a young female was found dumped in an open veld near a stream.
”The following day, Nonzwakazi reported her daughter missing and immediately urged police to question the ex-boyfriend. She informed police that Aphile had a protection order against him. When officers visited Mabitla’s residence, he confessed to forcibly removing Aphile from her new boyfriend’s home after following them from a tavern.
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”He admitted to assaulting her on the way, and upon arrival at his shack, used a golf stick to beat her until it broke in two.”
Msimanga said Mabitla claimed that they both slept, and when he tried to wake her the next morning, she was unresponsive.
“Instead of seeking help, he left to drink again and only returned the next day to dump her body near the stream.”
Conviction
Mabitla confessed to the crime, leading to his arrest. Msimanga said Detective Sergeant Alice Mabunda ensured the case progressed to court.
Acting station commander Captain Glen Whitford praised the work of SAPS officers.
“We welcome the hefty sentence and applaud the dedication of our members who ensured justice was served for the Tunce family.”
Despite the conviction, Aphile’s family continues to mourn the loss of a promising young woman whose future was violently taken from her. She wanted to be a doctor.
“Now I live with memories and pain. No sentence can bring my daughter back, but I pray he serves every single day of that sentence, “said her mother.
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