Tuesday, 06 September 2022 the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court which was sitting in Delmas slapped 32-year-old Tshepo Johannes Ngakane to life sentence coupled with 15 years’ imprisonment for gruesome murder of his 29 year old girlfriend, Ntombifuthi Sibeko and the attempted murder of a 35-year-old man two years back (2020).

The court heard that the accused suspected the man of having an affair with his girlfriend which led him to stage an attack on the victim, stabbing him several times and left him helpless in the bushes on 04 March 2020.

Four days later, the accused proceeded to attack his girlfriend (Sibeko) on Sunday 08 March 2020, stabbing her several times and she succumbed to her injuries as a result. Neighbours raised an alarm after they saw a two year old baby boy walking with bloodstained clothes on the street. The child was identified and a follow-up was made to his residence, upon arrival they noticed that the door was forcefully opened then police were summoned to the scene.

Upon the police’s arrival, the door was opened and discovered Sibeko’s body lying in the pool of blood with multiple stab wounds and her ear slightly cut.

Police investigation led to the arrest of Ngakane on 10 March 2020. He was charged with murder, attempted murder and housebreaking.

The convict was found guilty on Monday, 29 August 2022 and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, ten (10) years imprisonment for attempted murder and five years for housebreaking yesterday (Tuesday, 06 September 2022). All 15 years will be served concurrently with the life imprisonment.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has welcomed the sentence and strongly condemned Gender-Based-Violence as a worrying factor in the society. “The brutal murder of the child’s mother has left a gap which will have a negative impact on the child’s growth as he will forever miss the love from his mother. Though we appreciate the harsh sentence that was handed down to the accused however this pandemic should come to an end. We plead with various sectors in the community to join hands with government in fighting the scourge” said the General.