Ndwedwe man who killed wife in front of their children shown no mercy by court

A KwaZulu-Natal man who with unidentified accomplices murdered his wife in front of their children was this week  sentenced to life imprisonment by the Durban high court.

Nwabisa Joy Grace Mgandela was killed by strangulation in June 2020. 

She and her husband, Bhekukwanda Ian Cele, 57, had been married since 2013. Mgandela was his second wife but the couple was estranged at the time of her murder.

Cele, an employee of the Ndwedwe municipality, had pleaded not guilty to the crime. 

It was the state's case that on the night if Mgandela's killing, Cele had come to her house with unknown men who assaulted and strangled Mgandela with a rope.

Cele then left with the men and was arrested the following day.

Cele's advocate, Lawrence de Klerk, pleaded with the court to give him a lesser sentence, citing his “ripe age” and that he was a first-time offender who should “have hopeful prospects of life” after serving his jail term. 

He also argued that this was a crime of passion thus he was not a danger to society and that the time Cele had spent in custody after his arrest meant he had already begun his sentence.

But judge Sanele Hlatshwayo was not deterred.

“The accused had played God with the life of another person,” Hlatshwayo said as he delivered the sentence. 

He said this was viewed as the ultimate offence against another human being. This was worsened by the high prevalence of violence against women in the country.

“The cruelty of violence against the most vulnerable members of the society cannot be tolerated by our courts and our criminal justice system. Day in and day out our courts are making pronouncement and serous sentences are constantly being meted out,” said Hlatshwayo.

However, this has not deterred some members of the public from committing crime.

“It is for this reason that our courts have come up with a plan of saying it should not be business as usual, but send out a strong message. Society at large is sick and tired of people who resort to this,” said Hlatshwayo.

He argued that most people expected the court to deal decisively with perpetrators of gender-based violence.

“Failure by our courts sends a wrong message that people can do as they please and murder their spouses at a whim without any consequence and this may lead to them taking the law onto their own hands.

“It’s clear that the accused did not care about the psychological wellbeing of his children. The court takes into account the brutal actions and the impact it’s had on them. These children must be commended for testifying in court. What type of a father does that to his own children?” said Hlatshwayo.

He added: “You have scarred these children for the rest of their lives. You did not show any signs that you feel pity for these children.”

Hlatshwayo ordered that the family of the deceased be notified to make representations should accused Cele become eligible for parole. He also said the accused was not fit to possess a firearm.

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