Soshanguve baby bitten and beaten: father gets life term, mother 15 years

A young couple living in Soshanguve who murdered their baby have been sentenced to lengthy jail terms.

One-year-old Sphesihle Nonlanhla Njobe died in May 2022.

Pretoria prosecutor Hanlie du Preez led evidence in court from a pathologist, which revealed the baby girl had been severely abused, with four broken ribs, bruises and bite marks on her body.

Her father Joseph Molwana, 25, was this week sentenced to life imprisonment. Her mother Zanele Njobe, 20, who was then aged 17 and therefore a legal minor at the time of the offence, was sentenced to 15 years’ direct imprisonment in terms of the Child Justice Act.

Both were also sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment for child abuse. In addition, Molwana, a Mozambican, received a two-year sentence for being in the country illegally.

The court ordered Molwana's sentences will run concurrently with the life sentence. Both accused were declared unfit to work with children.

Magistrate Pieter Nel found the couple showed no remorse and their child had suffered prolonged abuse. He stressed the need to protect society from such individuals.

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