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Empty benches inside the court.
WARNING: The following story contains graphic content
The Pietermaritzburg High Court has sentenced the boyfriend of a woman who was murdered in Pietermaritzburg in March 2022, to life imprisonment. The court found that 29-year-old Simphiwe Zuma assaulted and killed his girlfriend Zama Mkhize aged 29 by strangling her with a rope, after an argument while travelling in a car.
Zuma’s friend 29-year-old Ayanda Nhlangulela was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for restraining Mkhize during the attack. Mkhize’s body was then taken to a nearby forest where she was set alight.
Zuma disposed of her body in a river two days later. An eye-witness who was travelling with the two convicted men and the victim in the car turned state witness.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says they welcome the hefty sentences handed down by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
“Zuma was sentenced to life imprisonment and Nhlangulela was sentenced to 20 years direct imprisonment. They were also declared to be unfit to possess a firearm. The NPA hopes the successful conviction and sentence sends a strong message that perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide will be held accountable.”
