Life sentence for femicide
Life sentence for femicide
The Nongoma Regional Court has sentenced Sphamandla Buthelezi (29) to life imprisonment for the October 2021 murder of his girlfriend, Gabisile Sithole in the Pongola, area. The couple shared a room and witnesses in court testified that they would often argue with each other, resulting in Buthelezi assaulting Sithole. The witnesses said that the couple would then reconcile. On the evening of the incident, Buthelezi began assaulting Sithole and she ran to one of the neighbours for assistance. When neighbours tried to intervene, he threatened to assault them as well and dragged her back to their room.
Neighbours eventually called the police who discovered Sithole’s bruised body. The post-mortem results showed abrasions all over her body, multiple sjamboks injuries and the cause of death being blunt force trauma to her body. Buthelezi was immediately arrested. In court, Buthelezi maintained his innocence, saying that Sithole was robbed and assaulted by someone else and that he had only hit her with the heel of a shoe. Regional Court Prosecutor Busisiwe Mfeka led the testimonies of the neighbours who had witnessed the assault, as well as the evidence of the police official who attended the scene. The court rejected Buthelezi’s version of the events.
In aggravation of the sentence, Mfeka submitted a Victim Impact Statement, compiled by Sithole’s sister and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer, Bhekithemba Hopewell Sithole. In her statement, the woman said that their family is still grieving their loss. She asked the court to impose the strictest sentence as Buthelezi had committed a gruesome offence. She also said that Buthelezi was a terrible person who beat Sithole daily. Buthelezi was sentenced accordingly, and the court deemed him unfit to possess a firearm.
The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter. Curbing the scourge of gender-based violence and intimate partner femicide remains one of the organisation’s top priorities. We also urge members of the community to speak out about these offences. We commend the work done by the prosecution and the police in securing the conviction.
Issued by,
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara
NPA Regional Spokesperson
KZN Division
Enquiries:071 6700 229/ nramkisson@npa.gov.za