46-year old Sabelo Buthelezi, a South African man, has bagged life in jail after he was convicted for the murder of his wife, Buthelezi Ngcobo whom he killed in February 2020.
Buthelezi was sentenced by the Nkandla Regional Court along with his accomplices, 46-year old Sphamandla Ntshingila and 36-year old Celani Buthelezi.
The convict had married the deceased in secret without knowing her family members and were living together when he killed her with the assistance of the other two convicts.
Narrating how the convict killed his wife, the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, said on the day he murdered her, he told the deceased that he would meet her in Nkandla town.
On his way to meeting her, he took along his two accomplices and after picking up the deceased from Nkandia, they drove around the town until it was dark.
They later forced her to drink poison and matcheted her with an axe on her head, and dumped her body in the bush. The corpse was found by passers-by the following morning.
Four months later, the convicts were arrested with Sabelo at the Mpumalanga-Mozambique border while trying to escape from South Africa. His arrest led to the arrest of his accomplices.
The Prosecutor, Sicelo Hlehla tendered exhibits and testimonies from several witnesses before the court .
Some of the witnesses included a colleague of the deceased who was aware of the meeting between the deceased and her husband as well as those who saw her in his car with the other two men.
Also, telephone evidence was also used to indict the convict of his involvement in the murder.
In aggravation of sentence, the state led the evidence of one of the deceased’s family members who mentioned the negative impact her death has had on their lives.
The NPA commended the court for ensuring justice was done adding that the judgment would help in further bringing an end to gender-based violence
