A 36-year-old man from Mamelodi East has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the high court in Pretoria for hacking his girlfriend with an axe and setting her alight.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said on Tuesday that John Sifiso Sibanyoni, 36, was handed a one-year life term for the murder of 25-year-old Gadifele Promise Mdletshe.
Mahanjana said Sibanyoni was further sentenced to an additional 15 years of direct imprisonment for arson.
She said the convicted murderer hacked Mdletshe with an axe on the skull and leg following an argument that the couple had on February 3 2021.
“The two argued at the home they shared in Mamelodi. During the argument, Sibanyoni threatened to kill the deceased,” Mahanjana said.
“At that point, the deceased ran out with her 10-year-old son.
“However, Sibanyoni managed to catch up with her, dragged her back to the shack, hacked her with an axe on the skull and leg, and set her alight in the presence of her son who was standing at the door.”
Mahanjana explained further: “After realising that his mother was burning, the boy ran to the neighbours to report the incident. After committing the offence, Sibanyoni ran [away], however, he was arrested a few days later on 7 February 2021, after he handed himself over to the police.
“However, due to his delayed appearance in court, the matter was withdrawn and Sibanyoni was re-arrested again on 20 September 2022 in Mpumalanga and has been in custody since.
“In court, he pleaded not guilty to the charges and said he hacked the deceased with an axe by mistake while trying to stop her from setting the shack alight.”
Premeditated murder
Mahanjana said the state prosecutor, advocate Sipho Lalane, was able to prove that the murder was premeditated.
“He was able to debunk that evidence and proved that Sibanyoni indeed killed his girlfriend,” said Mahanjana.
“He also read into the record the son’s victim impact statement facilitated by the court preparation officer Lebogang Lebese, where the son told the court that he has been unhappy since his mother’s death.
“In aggravation, advocate Lalane asked the court to impose a sentence of life imprisonment because the murder was premeditated.”
Mahanjana said Lalane brought to the attention of the court that Sibanyoni had two previous convictions of similar offences, where he was convicted of assault and malicious damage to property.
Presiding judge Mnisi agreed with the state and said he was of the view that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances for the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence, according to Mahanjana.
Mahanjana added that the director of public prosecutions, advocate Sibongile Mzinyathi, has welcomed the sentences and applauded the work of the investigating officer, which led to the conviction and sentencing.
“He [Mzinyathi] said he hopes the sentence will send a message that crimes of GBV [gender-based violence] will not be tolerated.”
