Cape Town – A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for bludgeoning his girlfriend to death with a panga and stabbing her 34 times with a knife.
Elvis Malebo, of Hartswater, was sentenced by the Northern Cape High Court on Thursday for murdering Evelyn Mocumi, 27. He had pleaded guilty to the murder and assault.
The incident was triggered at about 7.30pm on June 14 when the accused found Mocumi with a 33-year-old man in her shack at the Asgat informal settlement in Hartswater, the Northern Cape police said in a statement.
Malebo went to his house to fetch the weapons and threatened the man with the panga. The man fled the scene and the accused then murdered Mocumi.
He was arrested by the Hartswater SAPS minutes later and remained in custody until his sentencing.
Malebo received 25 years’ jail for the murder and 12 months for assaulting the man. The sentences will run concurrently.
Acting provincial police commissioner Major-General Phiwe Mnguni condemned the incident and commended the investigating officer, Sergeant Abraham Mokae from the Hartswater Detectives, for a job well done.
Mnguni added that the sentence would send out a strong message against those who perpetuate gender-based violence.
IOL