Man who fatally shot his ex-partner at Estcourt taxi rank sentenced to life.
A KwaZulu-Natal man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for murdering his ex-partner in cold blood at the Estcourt taxi rank.
The Estcourt Regional Court sentenced a 36-year-old man to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the murder of his 33-year-old ex-girlfriend in May 2025 at the Estcourt taxi rank.
The two were in a relationship and shared three minor children, but the deceased left the man because he was abusive towards her.
Estcourt man sentenced to life for killing ex-partner
Prior to the deceased’s murder, she had gone to Pietermaritzburg. When she was in Pietermaritzburg, the man could not contact her.
When the victim returned to Estcourt, the man called her and told her to wait for him at the taxi rank.
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National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that when the man arrived at the rank, the two got into an argument about where she went.
“The accused was armed with his licensed firearm, which he used to shoot the deceased all over her body. He emptied the entire magazine on her, killing her on the scene,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
The man’s actions were so horrifying that community members at the taxi rank started chasing him.
Taxi rank community chased murderer after shooting
To escape the community, he ran to a nearby police station and surrendered himself to the police.
In court, the man pleaded guilty to murdering his former girlfriend.
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Prosecutor Abednego Mbewu led the testimony of the deceased’s sister, who testified that the incident had traumatised her entire family, in order to aggravate the sentence.
“She said that images from the scene were circulated on social media, causing them further distress,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Convicted man’s family now responsible for minor children
The deceased’s uncle also testified that their family was devastated by the incident and must now share the responsibility of caring for the minor children.
In addition to the life sentence, the convicted man was deemed unfit to possess a firearm.
“The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter, as curbing the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide remains an organisational priority,” the NPA said.
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