Pretoria - A 30-year-old Mpumalanga man, Thulasizwe Mtholephi Kunene, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Mpumalanga High Court sitting in Breyten for the murder of his ex-lover, Thuli Mavuso, and housebreaking.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Mpumalanga spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said Kunene, from Mangosuthu in Piet Retief, pleaded guilty..
“Kunene was convicted of housebreaking and murder. This incident occurred after Kunene broke up with Mavuso. In his plea statement, he told the court he and Mavuso had two children,” she said.
At some stage, Mavuso terminated their relationship and fell in love with another man.
“This angered Kunene and he decided to kill her. On 7 July 2019, Kunene took a machete and went to the house where Mavuso was with her new boyfriend. He attacked her with the machete in the living room,” said Nyuswa.
“He chopped up her body several times and left it partially decapitated. He fled the scene on foot and was arrested at his work place the following day.”
In mitigation of sentence, Kunene told the court he was angered by the termination of the relationship and threats made towards him by Mavuso’s new boyfriend.
“Prosecutor, senior state advocate Ashwin Poodhun, said Kunene was not remorseful of his actions, otherwise he would have called for assistance after he realised that he made a mistake and not run away and conceal the murder weapon,” said Nyuswa.
“Judge Hein Brauckmann said violence against women and children is the most shameful human rights violation which knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. The judge said as long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace.”
Brauckmann sentenced Kunene to three years jail for housebreaking and life imprisonment for murder.
The court ordered the sentences run concurrently.
Acting director of public prosecutions in Mpumalanga, advocate Matric Luphondo, has welcomed the hefty sentence, attributing it to the collaborative efforts of the government’s justice cluster in achieving justice for victims of gender-based violence.
African News Agency (ANA)