Six-year suspended sentence for Ballito businessman convicted of kidnapping wife

Devastation and elation followed the sentencing of Ballito businessman Ryan Cowan who escaped jail time after being convicted of kidnapping and brutally assaulting his estranged wife five years ago.

Cowan received a wholly suspended prison sentence in the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court this afternoon, even though Magistrate Regina Mjwara found that he had shown little remorse or acceptance of responsibility for his crimes.

The same court convicted Cowan on April 28 of kidnapping, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) and contravening a protection order.

On May 4, 2021, he kidnapped his estranged wife, Mystrelle (37), held her against her will for two days and repeatedly assaulted her with his fists and a sjambok.

In sentencing Cowan, Mjwara combined the kidnapping and assault charges, imposing a six-year prison sentence wholly suspended for five years.

The suspension is conditional on Cowan not being convicted of assault, with or without GBH, or any other violent crime during that period.

For contravening a protection order, Cowan was fined R80 000. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Before handing down sentence, Mjwara outlined several aggravating factors.

She said Cowan had prioritised mending his marriage over obeying the law when he contravened the protection order. When Mystrelle tried to escape the ‘man cave’ where he had assaulted her, she was intercepted and brought back against her will.

Mjwara found that Cowan had shown a clear lack of remorse, accepting only partial responsibility for the assault late in the trial.

She also noted that he did not meet the minimum requirements for a non-custodial sentence, had failed to pay court-ordered child maintenance and that uncertainty surrounded his financial position after his company was deregistered.

Mjwara further stressed that, following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s November 2025 declaration of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) as a national disaster, the sentence needed to send a clear message to would-be offenders.

Mystrelle said she was shocked that such a violent attack had resulted in no jail time. She also said she felt unsafe because Cowan had committed the offences while out on bail in a separate assault case, which remains before the Umhlali Regional Court.

“I feel like a sitting duck,” she said.

“No wonder women don’t want to talk about it when they are attacked, there is no hope.”

Mystrelle’s mother, Melissa Leigh, said the sentence sent a “dreadful message” to the community, allowing a man convicted of serious gender-based violence offences, who had also defied a court order, to avoid jail.

She questioned how Cowan could afford an R80 000 fine while, by his own admission, owing more than R1-million in child maintenance.

Leigh praised prosecutor Vincent Mthambo for securing the convictions but said the sentence had failed victims of domestic violence.

Despite the outcome, Mystrelle thanked prosecutor Mthambo and investigating officer Warrant Officer Zungu for the sensitivity with which they had handled the case.

Note: This article has been updated to include Melissa Leigh’s comments.