Man sentenced to life for murder of girlfriend in KZN
· Citizen
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).
The man appeared in the Scottburgh Regional Court on Monday, where the sentence was handed down.
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The woman who was murdered in 2024 and the man were in a domestic relationship and had a child together.
On 28 July 2024, the man saw his girlfriend with another man at a beach in the Hibberdene area and confronted her, believing she was in a romantic relationship with the man.
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Murder
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the man confronted his girlfriend again, later, this time at a shebeen in the Mthwalume area.
“The accused once again confronted her and told her she should not be at the shebeen. The deceased left the establishment, but the accused followed her. When he caught up with her, he began assaulting her.
“Later that evening, a neighbour heard the deceased crying from the room she shared with the accused. The accused was subsequently seen leaving the room and walking towards a nearby shop. The following morning, the same neighbour went to the room to check on the deceased and found her lying on the bed with multiple assault injuries across her body,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Ramkisson-Kara said the police were called to the crime scene.
“After committing the offence, the accused fled the area but handed himself over to the police four days later.”
Trial
During court proceedings, Prosecutor Active Njakazi led the testimony of the neighbour who discovered the deceased, as well as the police officers who responded to the scene and the investigating officer.
The doctor who conducted the post-mortem examination on the deceased also testified.
“In aggravation of sentence, the state led the testimony of the deceased’s father, who told the court that his daughter’s death had been deeply traumatic for the entire family. The court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment and declared him unfit to possess a firearm,” Ramkisson-Kara said
The NPA welcomed the finalisation of this matter, saying it remains committed in the fight against the “scourge of gender-based violence and femicide.”
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