Sebolai 'not really a violent man'

Though former radio jock Donald Sebolai has admitted that he believes it is okay to slap a woman for refusing to listen to him‚ he is really not a violent man.

This was the argument on Thursday by defence advocate Thabang Mathopo as he asked for a lenient sentence for Sebolai in the Johannesburg High Court‚ sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court southeast of Johannesburg.

Sebolai‚ 38‚ was convicted in October of murdering his girlfriend Rachel "Dolly" Tshabalala‚ 32. Tshabalala was stabbed in her pubic area when the couple had a fight at Sebolai's Soweto flat in 2014. She bled to death.

The former JoziFM DJ known as DJ Donald Duck was also convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice for tampering with the crime scene by mopping up Tshabalala's blood on the floor.

Mathopo said that the degree of violence Sebolai used in the struggle with Tshabalala before she was stabbed and the fact the Sebolai did not retaliate when she slapped him in public in another incident‚ showed that he was not a violent man.

The court heard previously from a pathologist that Tshabalala's body showed no bruising or injuries apart from the single stab wound.

Mathopo further said the fact that the mother of one of Sebolai's children did not tell a probation officer‚ who prepared a pre-sentencing report in the case‚ that Sebolai had slapped her once showed that the woman did not consider it severe violence.

But prosecutor Elize le Roux said that this was mere speculation and that the woman had likely not mentioned the abuse because she wanted to protect Sebolai.

Le Roux asked the court for a substantially higher sentence than the prescribed minimum of 15 years in prison for murder‚ saying Sebolai exhibited a pattern of violence.

“For far too long an apparent perception [has existed] that domestic violence is not that serious... A message should be sent out that courts will not tolerate this kind of violence in society‚” Le Roux said.

Le Roux also asked that Sebolai's sentences for murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice should not run concurrently‚ but Mathopo said this was too harsh as the crimes were related.

Mathopo asked the court to impose a lesser sentence than the required 15-year term because Sebolai is good candidate for rehabilitation and can support his three children better financially if he is imprisoned for a shorter period.

Le Roux disagreed‚ saying the chances of successful rehabilitation were slim while Sebolai failed to show true remorse.

Sebolai denied killing Tshabalala. He told the court that she attacked him with a knife and stabbed herself in a struggle as he tried to fend her off.

Judge Cassim Moosa will sentence Sebolai on March 4.

- TMG Digital/TMG Courts and Law