The Ezakheni Regional Court has sentenced a 31-year-old man to 20 years of direct imprisonment for the attempted murder of his ex-partner in April 2023 in the Driefontein area. The accused was sentenced for attempted murder.

He and the 28-year-old complainant were in a domestic relationship, but the complainant left him prior to the incident.

On April 17, 2023, the complainant and her friend were on their way home in a taxi in which the accused was also a passenger.

When the complainant got off the taxi at her stop, the accused got off too, even though this was not his stop. He asked the complainant if he could speak to her, and her friend left them alone to fetch a jersey for the complainant.

The accused then pulled out a knife from his backpack to attack the complainant. Although she ran away, she fell, and he stabbed her 18 times on her back, arm, shoulders, and neck.

Her screams alerted her friend who witnessed the stabbing, and the accused then fled. The complainant was taken to a nearby hospital and he handed himself over to the police a week later.

Regional spokesperson of the NPA, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, says: “In securing the state’s case, prosecutor Cwayita Ngcongo led the evidence of the complainant, the medical doctor who treated her, and an eyewitness. The doctor’s evidence confirmed that the complainant sustained life-threatening injuries. In her evidence, the complainant gave the court an account of the impact of her injuries and said that she now lives in fear.”

Since the accused was sentenced in terms of the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, the minimum sentence prescribed is life imprisonment, however, the court mentioned the combination of his personal circumstances and the fact that he is a first offender did not justify imposing life imprisonment.

However, the court stressed that no other sentence, but a lengthy term of imprisonment was appropriate in this circumstance, thus sentencing him to 20 years’ imprisonment.

In addition to the sentence, he was declared unfit to possess a firearm.

“The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter, and we commend the work done by the prosecution and the police. We are committed to curbing the scourge of gender-based violence,” Ramkisson-Kara concludes.