The Limpopo High Court in Polokwane has handed a life sentence to a man who flouted the stipulations of a protection order and killed the mother of his three children.
Jonathan Vukosi Mashale, 35, was also sentenced to five years imprisonment for violating the court order and an additional two years on the count of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
"The court further ordered that all the sentences should run concurrently with the main count of murder," explained spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi.
Mashale and Sibongile Nobela were in a relationship and shared three children, however, they separated because he was abusive.
"In November 2021, Nobela took out a protection order. A month later, Mashale went to see her and she was with her new boyfriend. He told the man to leave, and as he was leaving, he heard Nobela screaming. When he went to check up on her, he saw Mashale stabbing her with a knife," Malabi-Dzhangi said.
He tried to help and called for an ambulance.
The court heard how the boyfriend managed to chase Mashale from the scene, but Nobola succumbed to her injuries and paramedics declared her dead.
Malabi-Dzhangi said in aggravation of sentence, State advocate Elelwani Mufamadi submitted that the deceased had a right to life and the accused robbed her of such.
"She further said that the accused did not show any remorse while stabbing the deceased 28 times. She concluded by saying that there are no substantial and compelling circumstances that were presented that would warrant the court from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment," the NPA said.
It added that in sentencing, Judge Jane Ngobeni agreed with the State that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the minimum sentence and also that the aggravation circumstances suppressed his circumstances, therefore, a suitable sentence will be life imprisonment.
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