The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has welcomed a life imprisonment sentence imposed on a 31-year-old man for the murder of his 29-year-old girlfriend in Mandawe on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. The offences were committed in March 2025. The accused and the deceased were in a relationship and had a child together.
On March 30, 2025, the accused went to the deceased’s cottage in Mandawe after she failed to answer his phone calls. Upon finding her there, he accused her of communicating with strangers on her cellphone. The accused became angry and drew a firearm, causing the deceased to scream. Her screams alerted neighbours, who warned the accused not to do anything unlawful.
Despite the neighbours' intervention, the accused shot the deceased several times in the upper body. The accused then turned the firearm on himself and shot himself in the side of the head. He was taken to hospital, where he later recovered, and was subsequently charged. According to the regional spokesperson of the National Prosecuting Authority, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, in court, the accused pleaded guilty to all charges.
During sentencing proceedings, Prosecutor Thanusha Govender submitted the crime scene photo album, ballistic report, and post-mortem report as part of the state’s case. Govender also handed in a victim impact statement (VIS) compiled by the deceased’s mother and facilitated by court preparation officer, Nokukhanya Mkhize. The VIS described the trauma the murder had caused the family.
The deceased’s mother told the court that her daughter had been the family’s breadwinner and provided financial support towards various household expenses. The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm and seven years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of ammunition.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm. The NPA welcomes the sentence as an appropriate reflection of the seriousness of the crime and reiterates that gender-based violence and femicide have no place in society.
Curbing the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) remains an organisational priority for the NPA. The NPA reiterates that women have the right to safety and dignity, including within intimate relationships, and perpetrators who violate those rights must be held accountable.
Key points
- The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his girlfriend in a jealous rage.
- The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence as a reflection of the seriousness of the crime.
- The court also declared the accused unfit to possess a firearm.
