Retshidisotswe Khumisi fatally stabbed his girlfriend more than a year ago.
Picture: iStock
A 27-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria found that there were no grounds to impose anything less than life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of his girlfriend.
Retshidisotswe Khumisi was sentenced after being convicted of killing Ntsoaki Annah Hobson at their home on 2 March 2025.
Khumisi had been in custody since the day of the murder, when he was arrested after allegedly fleeing the scene before later handing himself over to police.
The court heard that Hobson was repeatedly stabbed during an argument in the early hours of the morning.
Khumisi denied committing the crime throughout the trial, but the court ultimately found him guilty of his charges.
Alcohol and family circumstances raised in mitigation
During sentencing, Khumisi sought to persuade the court not to impose the mandatory life sentence, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
He pointed to a previous conviction for possession of suspected stolen property, but maintained that he should be treated as a first-time offender because he had no previous convictions for violent crimes.
The 27-year-old also asked the court to consider his personal circumstances, including his three minor children who depend on him.
Khumisi further urged Judge Jacobus Strijdom to take into consideration the time he had already spent in jail and the fact that he had consumed alcohol before the fatal incident.
Victim’s mother describes lasting impact
The state rejected these submissions and argued that the seriousness of the crime outweighed the mitigating factors raised by the accused.
Prosecutor Michael Shivuri told the court that Khumisi had committed a serious offence that remains a major concern in South Africa.
The state further argued that he had violated the trust placed in him as Hobson’s partner and the father of one of her children.
The prosecution also placed before the court a victim impact statement detailing the consequences of Hobson’s death for her family.
The document was facilitated by court preparation officer Kgomotso Lodi and focused on the effect the killing had on the victim’s mother.
“The deceased’s mother described how the loss of her daughter had profoundly affected her life and explained that she had never been the same since discovering her daughter’s lifeless body,” NPA’s regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said in a statement on Monday, 24 August 2026.
No substantial, compelling circumstances
In handing down the sentence, Strijdom considered the broader prevalence of violent crime and gender-based violence (GBV) in South Africa.
The court also took particular issue with the fact that the murder occurred inside the family home, “a place where the deceased was entitled to feel safe with her children”.
“Instead, the accused violated that trust and subjected her to fatal violence.
“Accordingly, the court found that no substantial and compelling circumstances existed to justify a lesser sentence and imposed the prescribed sentence of life imprisonment,” Mahanjana added.
The life sentence means Khumisi will remain behind bars for the premeditated killing of Hobson.
The NPA welcomed the outcome, with Mahanjana saying the sentence should serve as a warning to perpetrators of GBV that serious violent crimes would attract severe consequences.
