The man was arrested at his workplace the following day after killing the mother of his children.
PRETORIA, November 17 (ANA) – A 30-year-old Mpumalanga man, Thulasizwe Mtholephi Kunene, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Mpumalanga High Court sitting in Breyten for the murder of his ex-lover, Thuli Mavuso, and housebreaking.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Mpumalanga provincial spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said Kunene, from Mangosuthu in Piet Retief, pleaded guilty to the charges.
“Kunene pleaded guilty and was convicted of housebreaking and murder. This incident occurred after Kunene broke up with Mavuso. In his plea statement, he told the court that he and Mavuso had two children,” said Nyuswa.
At some stage, Mavuso terminated their relationship and fell in love with another man.
“This angered Kunene and he decided to kill her. On 7 July 2019, Kunene took a machete and went to the house where Mavuso was with her new boyfriend. He attacked her with the machete in the living room,” said Nyuswa.
“He chopped up her body several times and left it partially decapitated. He fled the scene on foot and was arrested at his work place the following day.”
In mitigation of sentence, Kunene told the court that he was angered by the termination of the relationship and the threats passed to him by Mavuso’s new boyfriend.
“Prosecutor, senior state advocate Ashwin Poodhun, said Kunene was not remorseful of his actions, otherwise he would have called for assistance after he realised that he made a mistake and not to run away and conceal the murder weapon,” said Nyuswa.
“Judge Hein Brauckmann said violence against women and children is the most shameful human rights violation which knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. The judge said as long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace.”
Brauckmann sentenced Kunene to three years’ imprisonment for housebreaking and life imprisonment for murder.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
Acting director of public prosecutions in Mpumalanga advocate Matric Luphondo has welcomed the hefty sentence, attributing it to the collaborated efforts of the government’s justice cluster in bringing justice for victims of gender-based violence.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
