PRETORIA – A Mpumalanga man, Adbul Samson Malambe, was on Monday sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for the 2017 murder of his girlfriend, the NPA said.
“The High Court of South Africa, Mpumalanga Division, sentenced a thirty-six-year-old man of Bhuga Trust, Adbul Samson Malambe, to twenty years imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Zanele Jeanet Mnisi,” NPA Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said.
“This is after Malambe pleaded guilty and was convicted of murder. On January18, 2017, Mnisi went to visit Malambe at his parental home. Later in the evening, they went to sleep in his room, which is situated outside the main house,” Nyuswa said.
“When they got into the room, Mnisi’s phone rang and Malambe recognised the number from a previous occasion, which had led to an argument.
“Once again, an argument broke out and Malambe took a broom stick and hit her several times. Upon realising that Mnisi was no longer breathing, he fled the scene, leaving Mnisi’s lifeless body in his bedroom.”
Malambe was arrested the following day.
The NPA said during the trial, senior state advocate Derrick Mashego told the court that domestic violence had become a scourge in South African society, and such cases should not be treated lightly by the courts.
“He [Mashego] said it had to be deplored and had to be severely punished. He added that hardly a day passes without a report in the media of a woman being beaten, raped or even killed in this country,” Nyuswa said.
She said the court highlighted that the rate of femicide had become very high in South Africa, with a woman being killed on average every three hours.
The court also noted that Malambe’s actions had left Mnisi’s family in distress.
Malambe was sentenced to 20 years direct imprisonment, and was further declared unfit to possess a firearm.