GCOBISA Yako (27) of Izingolweni went missing 11 years ago.
Her ex-boyfriend Benegnus Khuphelakwakhe Mthembu (27) was found guilty of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances in 2009, despite Yako’s body never being found.
During investigations conducted by Detective Captain Theo Goldstone from Port Shepstone SAPS, it was discovered that Yako had been in a relationship with Mthembu, which she had wanted to end.
During the trial it emerged that Mthembu took a cellphone from Yako and gave it to someone else to destroy.
However, the cellphone was not destroyed and was later handed in as an exhibit. The search for Yako proved fruitless.
Mthembu recently appealed his conviction in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The appeal was upheld and his previous conviction of robbery was set aside and he was instead found guilty of theft. The murder conviction too was set aside and replaced with a verdict of guilty of culpable homicide.
He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for robbery and seven years’ imprisonment for culpable homicide, the sentences to run concurrently.
