Pretoria – The Carolina Regional Court has sentenced Ace Ndlovu to 13 years imprisonment for attempted murder, arson as well as contravention of a protection order after he locked his former wife and sons in a shack and set it on fire.
The court heard how on November 25, 2020, Ndlovu locked his 35-year-old wife as well as their sons, aged four and five-years-old inside the shack they were living in and set it alight.
“Community members assisted to extinguish the fire and took them to the hospital. Police were notified about the incident and upon arrival they arrested Ndlovu and he was put under police guard as he had also sustained burn wounds. He was then charged with three counts of attempted murder, arson as well as contravention of a protection order,” said Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, spokesperson for the police in Mpumalanga.
“The court sentenced Ndlovu to 10 years for attempted murder and arson, plus an additional three years for contravention of a protection order,” he said.
Meanwhile, provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has welcomed the “hefty sentence” handed down against Ndlovu.
She has also commended community members for their role in saving the lives of the victims while the house was on fire.
“This is no longer time to fold hands and do nothing when crime happens. Everyone has got a role to play and one can imagine what could have happened to the victims if members of the community decided to just watch and not assist,” she said.
“This is a clear indication that we all need each other in the fight against crime, more especially crimes directed on women and children. We hope the sentence will serve as a deterrence to others,” she said.
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