Man who strangled ex-girlfriend's daughter, aged 10, gets life sentence

A man who strangled his former girlfriend's daughter in November last year was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday.

The North West high court, sitting in Klerksdorp regional court, found Joseph Phage, 39, guilty of murder after his submission of a plea statement in which he admitted to killing Kamogelo Sithole, 10.

Phage had in August last year been arrested in connection with stabbing Kamogelo’s mother, Betty Sithole, and assaulting her sister in June that year.

On November 4, when he was due to appear in court for attacks on Betty and her sister, Phage escaped from the court precinct after attempting to persuade Betty to drop charges against him.

On November 7, Phage was rearrested after an incident wherein the body of Kamogelo Sithole was found inside his shack in Sonderwater informal settlement, at Ikageng near Potchefstroom.

Phage is alleged to have kidnapped Kamogelo at a primary school in Ikageng. After the child’s disappearance, the mother reported a case of kidnapping at a local police station.

The police discovered the partially decomposed body of Kamogelo hidden under Phage's bed.

“Post-mortem results revealed that the child died of ligature strangulation. In his plea, he admitted to strangling the child with a cable until she died,” said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Henry Mamothame.

In aggravation of sentence, the state urged the court to consider Phage’s previous convictions which included  attempted rape, robbery with aggravating circumstances and housebreaking.

In addition to a life sentence for murder, Phage was sentenced to 15 years for attempted murder and five years for kidnapping. The sentences will run concurrently with the life sentence.

Phage’s application for leave to appeal against the sentence was also refused.

North West director of public prosecutions Rachel Makhari-Sekhaolelo welcomed the conviction and sentence.

“We are pleased with the collaboration by the prosecutor and the investigating officer in ensuring that this case was watertight. The protection of women and children is something the criminal justice system will never compromise on,” she said.

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