A 43-year-old man from Mpumalanga was found guilty of killing his fiancée after he allegedly caught her sitting on the bed in the room with another man.
Gladstone Sipho Mahlangu was convicted and sentenced to effective 20 years imprisonment by the KwaMhlanga regional court on Tuesday. He had been charged with the murder of his partner, Siphiwe Mavis Mokoena and the attempted murder of her lover (the complainant).
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the accused had paid lobola to the deceased’s family and they had two children together.
However, on February 19, 2019, Mahlangu went to the deceased’s house at Thembalethu, KwaMhlanga. There he found Mokoena with another man in the room, sitting on the bed.
The deceased and the accused got into a fight because the accused wanted to know who the man was.
Confronted victim about another man
“He took out his firearm and fatally shot his fiancée in the head. [Mahlangu] then fired shots at the complainant, causing injuries to his ribs, shoulder, and hands. He was arrested and told the court that he accidentally shot his fiancée. Mahlangu also claimed that he acted in self-defence when shooting the complainant,” said Monica Nyuswa, NPA spokesperson in Mpumalanga.
State prosecutor Bianca Harmse presented the complainant’s evidence along with that of an eyewitness who witnessed the shooting.
Postmortem reports confirming the deceased’s multiple wounds. Also, J88 (forms) attesting to the complainant’s potentially fatal injuries were displayed.
Harmse argued that the prosecution’s overwhelming evidence led the court to reject the accused’s version of events. Evidence showed that the accused deliberately shot the deceased and never put the complainant in danger.
Victim’s father gave impact testimony
The accused was found guilty as charged. Mokoena’s father testified in aggravation of sentence. He said losing his daughter has negatively affected the whole family. They now have the burden of taking care of the deceased’s children.
“I would never forgive him for what he did to my daughter,” said the father in court.
Mahlangu was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment for the murder and five years for attempted murder.
Nyuswa said the NPA will continue to pursue justice for the victims of sexual offences, gender-based violence and femicide.
Never trust on girls