Baby Ntamehlo has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he was found guilty of murdering his estranged wife Nosicelo Tsipa.
The sentencing was handed down in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday. This after Tsipa was murdered following a dispute over an RDP house in 2020.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, in October 2020 the convict had informed his friend Nyameko Sixhozi that he will strangle, kill and burn his estranged wife.
“I wish to strangle [her to] death around the early hours of the morning and burn her body next to the river close to us, my brother. I have had enough,” reads a text message that Ntamehlo sent to Sixhozi.
The message was read out during court proceedings as part of evidence and to prove the motive for the gruesome murder.
Tsipa’s body was later found strangled, partially burnt, and buried in a shallow grave in Fisantekraal near Durbanville in Cape Town.
After killing her, Ntamehlo told his family and the police that he did not know where Tsipa was.
He later changed his version of the story and said the deceased had phoned asking for money, but hung up before he could ask where she was.
During trial, the court heard that the convicted murderer sent threatening messages to the deceased in a form of voice messages on WhatsApp.
In one of the messages, he told her that most people go missing and never get to be buried by their relatives.
The deceased shared the messages with her brother and friends, and these were presented before court as evidence.
“He physically abused his wife in front of their minor son to the extent that the deceased applied for two protection orders,” said senior state advocate Megan September.
“The deceased applied for a protection order and an interim protection order was granted on September 2019 at the Bellville magistrate’s court.
“This order was never made final, as the accused did not appear, and the matter was removed from the roll.”
Handing down sentencing, judge Daniel Thulare also ordered that the RDP house be forfeited to the couple’s child.
“The patrimonial benefit of the marriage between the accused and the deceased in respect of the property, referred to as 99 Street Fisantekraal, Durbanville, is forfeited by the accused in favour of their only child,” said Thulare.
Thulare also ordered the premier of Eastern Cape to ensure that the family of the deceased visits her grave as part of therapy.
“The premier of the province of the Eastern Cape shall within 30 days of this order trace the remains of the deceased, buried within the boundaries of the Eastern Cape, and immediately take all the necessary steps to ensure that the deceased’s child visits such a grave as part of their emotional and psycho-social therapy as advised by a social worker.”
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
