Mpumalangan man sentenced to life for violent murder and arson
According to the post-mortem report the victim was 10 weeks pregnant at the time of her murder.
A 29-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his pregnant girlfriend, with an additional five years for arson.
He was sentenced by the Mpumalanga High Court sitting in Delmas on Friday, July 3.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority’s provincial spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, the man was convicted of murder and arson.
“The pregnant woman was last seen by a friend on November 22, 2023. On the same day, she informed her colleagues via WhatsApp that she would not be reporting for duty as she intended to travel to her parents’ home in Mamelodi,” Nyuswa said.
Nyuswa said that she failed to arrive there and her family attempted to contact her friends and colleagues. Her phone was off, and she was reported missing.
“On the morning of November 25, 2023, her apartment in Evander was set alight. Members of the Govan Mbeki Fire Brigade responded and extinguished the fire, only to discover her burnt body inside the flat. A post-mortem examination revealed that the woman had been assaulted, sustaining multiple rib fractures and stab wounds before her body was set alight. It was also established that she was ten weeks pregnant at the time of her death,” Nyuswa said.
The convict was arrested after confiding in friends about the killing.
The senior state advocate, Themba Lusenga, led compelling evidence, including testimony from eyewitnesses, fire experts who investigated the scene, and a local businessman who testified that the accused had sold him the deceased’s cellphone for R650.
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In aggravation of sentence, the court heard a Victim Impact Statement from the deceased’s mother, detailing the emotional trauma and devastating impact on the family.
Nyuswa said that the court found the murder to be brutal and inhumane and Lusenga argued that the accused had shown no remorse and failed to explain his actions.
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“The court sentenced the man to life imprisonment for murder and five years’ imprisonment for arson. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, meaning he will effectively serve a life term,” Nyuswa said.
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
