Man who killed cop girlfriend sentenced to life imprisonment

A KwaZulu-Natal man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, constable Senzeni Msipha.

Lucky Masinga, 35, and his co-accused friend Vincent Zikhali, 38, appeared in the Mtunzini High Court on Friday. They were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for armed robbery and five years for kidnapping.

Msipha was reported missing from her home in Gingindlovu, in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, in February 2018, after she went shopping and never came back.

Masinga was the last person to see her alive. Her charred remains were found in her car along a rural road in Inyoni, also in northern KZN.

DNA testing was used to identify her.

"Nyoni police officers attended to a complaint of what appeared to be an accident along the P266 road in their policing precinct. On arrival, they noticed a vehicle on fire and found the driver burnt beyond recognition," said provincial spokesperson Lt-Col Thulani Zwane.

The third accused in the matter, Siyabonga Khumalo, 29, is already serving a 39-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to murder in April 2018.