Duduza man sentenced to 15 years in jail for killing girlfriend

The Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni has sentenced a 26-year-old Duduza man to 15 years in prison for killing his girlfriend.

Lundokuhle Innocent Radebe from Duduza near Nigel appeared in court on Monday where judgment was handed down.

Radebe was sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment for murder and five years for defeating the administration of justice. The court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently and that he be declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Radebe killed his 20-year-old girlfriend, Thandeka Tshabalala, in 2021.

NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, said they are satisfied with the sentence handed down to Radebe.

“Radebe strangled Thandeka. Thereafter, he called the police, and when they arrived, he told them the deceased had committed suicide, and that he found her neck tied with a cord.

“After the pathologist examined the body of the deceased, it was discovered that she had been strangled. Radebe was then arrested on 1 December 2021 at his place of residence,” Mahanjana said.

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Violence

Through his legal representative, Radebe asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence and impose a 10-year sentence, because he had no previous convictions and had the responsibility of looking after his 16-year-old sibling.

However, in aggravation, state prosecutor advocate Vusumzi Tshabalala told the court that there was a significant amount of violence used when committing this offence, which led to broken bones around the deceased’s neck.

GBV

Tshabalala told the court that this case was a typical case of femicide, which robbed the deceased of her life since she was only 20 years old when she was killed. 

“As such, the killing of the deceased has caused trauma to her mother and siblings,” said Tshabalala.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Carla Van Veenendaal said gender-based violence (GBV) is a big pandemic in South Africa and that men should learn to respect women.

Van Veenendaal added that Radebe did not show any remorse and therefore found that there were no substantial or compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.

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