Cape Town – Convicted murderer Sithembile Nokwe has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for stabbing a man several times while they were seated and arguing in the back seat of a friend’s vehicle over a pair of takkies.
Nokwe was convicted for the 2019 murder of Asanda Mnabisa, with State prosecutor Samantha Hendricks arguing in court that he was a danger to society.
A few days before the incident, Nokwe was robbed of his takkies by people he believed were known to Mnabisa.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Xolani Oyiya testified that he and Andile Mncanjane met Nokwe, who sought their assistance to trace Mnabisa.
They found Mnabisa, and they all went to Ramaphosa Informal Settlement, where Nokwe was robbed.
Oyiya further testified that they drove around for some time, looking for the takkies and then went to the house of a street committee member, after being told that she might know where the takkies were.
They waited for her at her house but left after some time when she failed to arrive.
Nokwe pleaded not guilty, and instead implicated Mancanjane as the one who stabbed Mnabisa.
“The spate of violent crimes such as the one that the accused has been convicted of is ever increasing.
“The courts can help to root out this evil by imposing sentences that match the seriousness of these offences.
“He is a danger to people and society. He has shown no remorse for his actions in respect of the offence he has committed and maintains his innocence in the face of overwhelming evidence against him. The State submits that the prescribed minimum sentence is the only suitable sentence under the circumstances,” Hendrick argues.
Director of Public Prosecutions in the Western Cape, Adv. Nicolette Bell applauded the sentence handed down by the court, and the commendable work done by the investigating and prosecution and investigation team.
Cape Times