The Moretele Magistrates’ Court in South Africa has sentenced a 24-year-old man, Nkateko Masha to a 15-year jail term, with 5 years suspended, for murdering his 17-year-old girlfriend, Gontse Malatji.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) North West Division, Regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, in a statement on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, said Masha was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
His conviction emanates from an incident that occurred on 16 November 2021, at Stinkwater near Moretele, wherein he confronted his girlfriend, who was with him at his home.
He accused her of cheating after seeing images on Facebook. An argument ensued and the girlfriend decided to end the relationship with him.
She, however, slept over in his outside room, and that was when he decided to get a knife and stabbed her to death while she was asleep.
He subsequently fled to a nearby bush where he attempted suicide by cutting his hands with a knife. He later withdrew from killing himself and went back home to report what he had done before handing himself to the police.
The court granted him R1000 bail, and he pleaded guilty to the offence. In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor, Mpho Matlala urged the court to consider the rifeness of femicide in the country and further argued that being in a relationship doesn’t give any partner a right to kill whenever there’s a conflict.
Magistrate Gilbert Sono agreed with the state but also considered that the accused is young and a first-time offender who is a candidate for rehabilitation, before imposing a sentence on him.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari, lauded the prosecutor and Constable Kekana from the South African Police Service for their collaboration in bringing justice to the family of the deceased.
She called on all community formations to strengthen educational programmes on gender-based violence and femicide.
