Man who decapitated girlfriend’s head sentenced to 23 years

Disappointment and heartbreak are what Zamelani Ncancashe felt when Elhadji Adama Kebe was sentenced at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg.

Kebe (33) was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of Zamelani’s stepdaughter, Sibongile Zenzile.

Kebe unlawfully and intentionally stabbed Zenzile several times and killed her on April 25, 2019.

The court also sentenced Kebe to two years in prison for violating Zenzile’s corpse by cutting off her head and placing it in the fridge.

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The court also ordered the sentence of violating the corpse to run concurrently with the murder sentence.

Zenzile, who was 28 years old at the time of her death, and Kebe were reported to be in a relationship and living together in a flat in West Street, Kempton Park CBD, where her body was found decapitated.

Kebe was arrested at his place of work, also on West Street, shortly after Zenzile’s body was discovered.

The gruesomeness of Zenzile’s death and the sentence imposed on Kebe were among the factors that brought disappointment and shock to Zamelani.

“I don’t want to lie, I am not happy with the sentence because of the brutality of my daughter’s death.”

During the sentencing, judge Avrielle Maier-Frawley stated that though there were aggravating circumstances (such as cutting off her head), there were also mitigating factors that led her to impose a lesser sentence than the prescribed sentence of life for premeditated murder.

These included the fact that Kebe was a first offender, had shown remorse for his deeds, had already spent two years in prison awaiting trial, pleaded guilty, and there were possibilities for his rehabilitation.

Another factor taken into consideration was that Kebe is young. Zamelani was not pleased with this and said his daughter was also young when she was killed.

“I have to wonder, does the interest of the accused overshadow the interest of the victim? We have a problem with GBV in the country, so what does a message of such a lean sentence send?

“What about the interest of the secondary victims? Are they overshadowed?

“On the principal of fairness, the whole idea of us having the law is to ensure that even the weak are protected.”

Buyiswa Ncancashe, Sibongile’s mother, had previously told Express she has never been the same since her daughter’s death.

Zamelani stated in court that Buyiswa’s health deteriorated and that she had developed a heart condition after the murder. He told Express she was admitted to the hospital on the day of the sentencing.

“She was my angel, a very obedient, humble and disciplined person. It baffles me that someone else saw it fitting to brutally murder her. The three of us got along so well and now she is gone,” said Buyiswa.

“She was my only child and she is gone.”

Zenzile was a qualified teacher, just like her mother.

Kempton Park SAPS detective Sgt Jason Bramdaw also followed the trial and sympathised with Zamelani.

“For SAPS and NPA, our work stops when the person is found guilty, which means we have done what we were supposed to do,” explained Bramdaw.

“The issue for me in terms of the sentence is the interest of the family. If you listen to the father, he was hoping for a kind of closure that will make him sleep better, which I think he really didn’t get.

“The father walked out of the courtroom upset, which I can understand. It is the nature of the murder that is so shocking. When you look at the justification for not adhering to the minimum sentence, it just didn’t sound right to me.

“We have an issue with GBV, so how does a woman feel opening the newspaper to read that a man only gets 23 years for such a brutal murder.”

Zamelani said although he is not happy with the sentencing, it brought closure for the family.

“Under the circumstances, we were hoping for a life sentence, I am just worried about GBV. Are our girl children safe?

“I appreciate the efforts made by the investigating officer, other officials and the witnesses. I appreciate them because if it was not for their work maybe we wouldn’t know where Sibongile’s body is today,” expressed Zamelani.

“Overall, I am just glad it is finally over. We need to move on at some stage.”

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