Hammanskraal - An Mpumalanga businessman convicted of shooting his wife seven times seven years ago was jailed for 15 years by the Temba Regional Court on Wednesday.
Magistrate Willie van den Berg found Solly Madileng guilty of kidnapping his wife Maki Madileng and attempting to murder her in August 2007, a Sapa correspondent reported.
The couple, who had three children together, were separated at the time of the crime.
On August 7, 2007, four months after Maki Madileng had moved out of their home, her husband asked her to visit him to attempt a reconciliation.
The court has heard that he asked her to arrange a weekend stay for them at the Elephant Hotel in Bela Bela.
Maki Madileng testified that as they drove past a secluded area between Nokaneng and Settlers villages, her husband claimed there was something wrong with the car and stopped.
“Suddenly I heard a loud bang. I then saw smoke going up and shattered window glass. I knew it was a sound of a gun,” she said.
“He fired many times and the next time I woke up I was in a ditch in an open veld and my husband and the car were nowhere to be seen.”
After the shooting, Solly Madileng fled the scene and was arrested in Durban two days later.
He denied his wife's version of events, telling the court he shot her in self-defence following an argument in the car.
He insisted the gun had been between them on the front seat and that his wife grabbed it and tried to shoot him.
“I overpowered her and took the gun out of her hands and shot randomly towards her,” he said.
Medical reports indicated she was shot seven times, but none of the bullets penetrated deep enough to cause serious damage.
Madileng said he did not report the matter to the police as he was scared and shaken.
Van den Berg said if he had shot in self-defence he would not have fled the scene.
“The accused claims to have been scared but drove for about 400km to Durban, passing many police stations on the way, and failed to report the matter.”
At the time of the shooting, Maki Madileng had a protection order against her husband for an unrelated incident.
Van den Berg said it was a miracle she survived the shooting and said she would have died had it not been for a passerby who saw her and called the police.
“The accused's actions are not those of a real man. He was married to the complainant for 10 years and the two have three children together, but he shot her seven times and left,” said Van den Berg.
He sentenced Madileng to 15 years on the attempted murder charge and five years for kidnapping. The sentences will run concurrently.
When the case started, Madileng turned down the offer of a plea bargain. He would have served five years in exchange for pleading guilty.
Sapa