Pretoria -
A Mpumalanga man was so outraged that his “promiscuous” girlfriend had infected him with the HIV/Aids virus, that he planned to shoot her, but he instead killed her daughter by mistake.
He opened fire on a person sleeping in a bed, thinking it was his girlfriend.
Thobela Mosana, 34, was sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2012 after he pleaded guilty to murder in the Middelburg Regional Court.
He turned to the North Gauteng High Court to appeal his sentence.
Judge Joseph Raulinga reduced the life sentence to one of 20 years imprisonment.
Mosana earlier told the court that he dearly loved his girlfriend, only identified as T to protect her due to her HIV/Aids status.
Judge Raulinga said in his judgment it seemed as if Mosana was “under a spell” and that T infected him with HIV, as he had fell ill. It was established that he had indeed contracted the virus.
As he became increasingly ill, his girlfriend became more promiscuous and even engaged in sexual intercourse with other men in his presence, Mosana said.
He “succumbed to anger” and obtained an illegal firearm.
He acted in revenge and shot and killed a person sleeping in her bed, thinking it was her.
Mosama said he fired two shots through an open window during the night, aiming at the figure in the bed. It turned out to be his girlfriend’s daughter.
Judge Raulinga said although the offence was serious and must be met by a jail term, each case had to be dealt with according to its own set of facts.
The judge said the sentence of life imprisonment meant that he will have turned 59 years by the time he is released.
“He pleaded guilty, which is a sign of remorse. Moreover he is a first offender,” the judge said.
Pretoria News