Hefty sentence for Mams girlfriend killer
She ran out of with her 10-year-old son but the accused caught up to them, dragged her back to the shack where he hacked her with an axe.
The Pretoria high court has sentenced a Mamelodi East man convicted for the murder of his girlfriend to life.
John Sifiso Sibanyoni (36) appeared in the court on October 13 for sentencing for the murder of Gadifele Promise Mdletshe (25).
NPA Tshwane spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana said Sibanyoni received a further 15 years of direct imprisonment for arson.
She said the court heard that on February 3, 2021, Sibanyoni and Mdletshe argued in the home they shared in Mamelodi and he later threatened to kill her at which point she ran out with her 10-year-old son.
She said Sibanyoni caught up to her, dragged her back to the shack where he hacked her with an axe then set her alight in the presence of her son, standing at the door.
“After realising that his mother was burning the boy ran to the neighbours to report the incident,” said Mahanjana.
She said Sibanyoni escaped but was arrested a few days later on February 7 when he handed himself over to the police.
But because of delays in court proceedings, the matter was withdrawn and Sibanyoni was set free.
However, he was re-arrested on September 20, 2022, in Mpumalanga after the case was reinstated. He has been in custody since.
Mahanjana said Sibanyoni pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed he had hacked Mdletshe by mistake while trying to stop her from setting the shack alight.
State prosecutor Advocate Sipho Lalane was able to debunk that evidence and prove that Sibanyoni indeed killed his girlfriend.
He also read into the record that the son’s victim impact statement facilitated by court preparation officer, Lebogang Lebese in which he told the court he has been unhappy since his mother’s death.
“Lalane asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment because the murder was premeditated,” she said.
“He also brought to the attention of the court that Sibanyoni had two previous convictions for similar offences, assault and malicious injury to property.
“Furthermore, Lalane told the court that it had a duty to protect the most vulnerable groups in society, children and women.”
She said Judge Mnisi agreed and further said that he was of the view that there were no substantial and compelling reasons for the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
NPA Gauteng director of public prosecutions Advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi welcomed the sentences and applauded the work of Mamelodi East police station-based investigating officer Sergeant Mashego Onismus Masha that led to this conviction and sentence.
He said he hopes the sentence will send a message that GBV crimes will not be tolerated.
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