Life imprisonment for father convicted of burning his baby daughter to death

Vusumzi Potelwa has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of murdering his own daughter.

Vusumzi Potelwa has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was convicted of murdering his own daughter.

Published Jun 10, 2022

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Cape Town - Vusumzi Potelwa, 35, was on Thursday sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his 8-month-old daughter Khwezi Mtshengu, who burnt to death after he set her alight following a fight with the mother.

The baby girl was killed on November 17, 2019 after Potelwa, doused her and her mother, Sivuyisiwe Mtshengu, with paraffin during an argument.

Mtshengu fled the scene in order to escape Potelwa’s alcohol-driven rage and returned the next morning to find her little girl had died.

The post-mortem revealed paraffin was concentrated on the little girl’s face and the smoke had consumed her capacity to breathe, causing her to suffocate in pain before she died. Acting Judge Constance Nziweni yesterday described the incident as “shocking and tragic”.

She said from the evidence it seemed that Potelwa had set little Khwezi alight to punish the mother.

“I highly suspect that you killed your own flesh and blood for spite … It is unfortunate and sad that Khwezi was caught up in the middle of her parents’ squabbles and she paid the highest price for that,” Judge Nziweni said.

She further noted his behaviour during the trial.

“You have shown no empathy for what you did. Instead your lack of remorse, empathy or guilt was clear at times you would laugh or smile. What is disturbing is that it appears that you don’t appreciate the magnitude of your actions,” Judge Nziweni said.

Potelwa was sentenced to life imprisonment for Khwezi’s murder, four years for attempted murder of Mtshengu, one year for arson and six months for assault, effectively being ordered to serve a term of life imprisonment.

As part of the probation officer’s report, Mtshengu described Potelwa as a loving father and a kind person who took care of their two children while she was working.

The judge found this detail peculiar. “There is an anomaly about your description as a loving and caring father which strikes me as contradictory. What kind of loving father are you who premeditated and set out to kill his own child?”

Outside court, Mtshengu hesitated to comment but said: “Even though I have forgiven him for what he has done, the court has decided.”

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Cape Argus