Two men from KwaZulu-Natal have been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in the Greytown Regional Court. The men, aged 21 and 28, cannot be named to protect a key witness, a minor.
The court heard that the murder occurred in December 2019. The older man had been in a relationship with the victim, and they had a five-year-old daughter together.
The woman had ended the relationship in 2018 due to the man’s violent behavior and had obtained a protection order against him.
On December 2, 2019, while the pregnant woman was at home with her daughter, the two cousins forced their way in.
They overpowered her and brutally attacked her with a panga and a bush knife for about 30 minutes, resulting in the deaths of both the mother and her unborn child.
Witness testimonies revealed that the woman’s ex-boyfriend had initially intended to harm their daughter but was stopped by his accomplice.
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The five-year-old girl managed to escape and seek help from neighbors after the attackers fled.
The young girl, who witnessed the horrific event, provided testimony in court identifying her attackers as her father and uncle.
Neighbors also confirmed hearing the victim’s cries for help. Following the incident, the girl has suffered from nightmares and struggles with the loss of her mother.
During sentencing, both men received life sentences and were deemed unfit to possess firearms.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, emphasizing the ongoing commitment to combat gender-based violence and intimate partner femicide in the community.
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