THE Mbombela High Court has handed down a life sentence to a man who killed his girlfriend, accusing her of cheating.
Themba Mahlangu (45) murdered Tumelo Mamogale on the streets of Lydenburg, Mpumalanga in October 2021.
The couple was walking on the street when Mahlangu started attacking Tumelo. He bumped her into a neighbour’s gate before stabbing her to death with a bottle.
The court heard that after committing the offence, Mahlangu left the scene while Tumelo was fighting for her life. He came back after an hour and found her dead. She was covered with a blanket, which Mahlangu lifted and shouted, 'who killed my wife?'"
Mahlangu was convicted for the premeditated murder on Wednesday, 11 October.
Leading his evidence, he told the court they were attacked by four men who further stabbed them.
He said this was because of his partner's infidelity.
ALSO READ: Deadly heist shocks umphakathi!
Meanwhile the victim's mother, Sophie Mkhonza, told the court through her victim impact statement that she was struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of her daughter.
Mkhonza said since the incident, she has lost a lot of weight because of the pain she was carrying. She said she had to be a grandmother and mother to her grandkids.
The acting judge, Sheila Msibi, said the accused had never showed any signs of remorse.
She said in the evidence he led, it was clear that he didn't regret his deeds.
She said Mahlangu wanted to mislead the community that someone had killed his wife.
"You still maintain your innocence even after your conviction. You refuse to acknowledge your guilt. From the evidence you led, it cannot be said you acted on a spare of a moment when you killed the deceased. The murder of the deceased was gruesome, shocking and brutal.
"She died a painful and gruesome death. You completely disregarded her body and life. You exorbitated this violence despite the fact that your three neighbour’s had reprimanded you," she said
National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman, Monica Nyuswa said the NPA remains committed in fighting the High levels of Gender Based Violence related offences.
