Wife beater to serve life sentence after fatal attack

The KwaZulu-Natal man, who had a previous conviction for assaulting his wife, was sentenced to life in jail for her murder.

The KZN man, who had a previous conviction for assaulting his wife, was sentenced to life in jail for her murder. Stock photo.
The KZN man, who had a previous conviction for assaulting his wife, was sentenced to life in jail for her murder. Stock photo. (123RF)

A 41-year-old KwaZulu-Natal man has been sentenced to life behind bars for strangling his wife to death after accusing her of cheating.

The National Prosecuting Authority in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday said the murder occurred in the Jakkalspan area.

“The accused and the 29-year-old deceased lived together as husband and wife since the accused had paid a portion of lobola to her family. They had four children together.

“On the evening of July 11 2024, the accused and his wife were alone at home when a quarrel broke out between them. This is because he suspected her of cheating on him. The quarrel escalated and the accused strangled her to death,” said NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.

The man went to his brother’s homestead where he confessed to his sibling. He then handed himself over at the nearest police station.

In the Madadeni regional court, prosecutor Zama Zikalala led the testimony from the accused’s brother and the police officer who was on duty when the accused confessed to his wife’s murder. The postmortem results were also handed in to the court.

In aggravation of sentence, Zikalala told the court the accused had a previous conviction for assaulting his wife.

The accused was sentenced and the court declared him unfit to possess a firearm.

“The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of this matter. We remain committed to the fight against the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide. We will continue to ensure that justice is delivered swiftly and decisively,” said Ramkisson-Kara.

TimesLIVE


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