RUSTENBURG: The Bloemfontein High Court sitting in Bethlehem meted out two life sentences in a gender-based violence (GBV) related case on Thursday, Free State police said.
Spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said the court finalised two GBV-related cases in two days.
In one of the cases, Mpho Majoba, 29, was sentenced for slitting a woman’s throat and left her to die in the bushes in Rosendal.
The woman managed to crawl to the road where she was spotted and assisted by a farmer.
“During trial, it was revealed that on the 29 March 2021 Majoba kidnapped and slit the throat of the victim before he raped and robbed her of her two cellphones.
“She managed to crawl to the road where she was assisted by a farmer who called an ambulance and the matter was reported to the police. Because she was struggling to speak, she managed to write on the piece of paper and gave description of the suspect.
“This led to the arrest of Majoba on the same day. He made his first appearance on 06 April 2021 and stayed behind bars until he was sentenced today,” said Makhele.
Majoba was sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder, two life imprisonment for rape, three years for kidnapping and 15 years for aggravated robbery. The sentences would run concurrently.
In another case, Raphepane Petrus Tsolo, 46, was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on Tuesday.
Makhele said Tsolo handed himself over to the police in Seneka on November 30, 2019.
This was after he had stabbed his wife, Mookgo Anna Mzizi, 34, several times with a knife.
“The deceased’s body was found near the clinic in Matwabeng, Senekal. He (Tsolo) appeared in court charged with premeditated murder and his bail was denied until he was successfully sentenced to 30 years direct imprisonment on 7 September 2021.”
Free State provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Baile Motswenyane said the sentencing came at the right time for GBV perpetrators and would send a strong message to others that crime against women and children does not pay as justice would always prevail.
IOL