Woman gets 9 years for killing ex-lover
MBABANE – A woman, who stabbed her former lover to death during a drinking spree on New Year’s Day in 2020, has been sentenced to nine years imprisonment.
Judge Bongani Sydney Dlamini suspended three years of the sentence for a period of two years, on condition that Zanele Sifundza would not commit a similar offence. The judgment was issued yesterday.
The Crown led eight witnesses during the trial. In her evidence, Sifundza informed the court that on January 31, 2019, she was at a Mabila homestead at Engweni, Shewula in the Lubombo Region.
She said upon arrival at the homestead, she found one Kwanele Magagula and Majaha Maziya, whom she joined in enjoying alcohol beverages.
According to Sifundza, at some point, the alcohol they were drinking got finished and Kwanele gave her E50 to go with one Majaha Maziya to buy more drinks.
Before Sifundza and Majaha could get to the window in which alcohol was sold, the court was informed, they were confronted by a patron, Thabo Magagula, who slapped the convict with an open hand on her face.
When she asked Thabo why he hit her, he is said to have not responded but instead ran away to rejoin his friends, who were sitting in a group.
Argument
Sifundza said she followed Thabo to enquire why he had beaten her. On reaching Thabo’s group, a heated argument ensued and Thabo slapped her again.
A fight also ensued and Sifundza was fighting back.
She stated that during the fight, she tripped and fell to the ground. Sifundza said Majaha and Kwanele attempted to help her but other patrons told them not to interfere in the fight.
She said Ngcebo continued to hit her even after Thabo had stopped beating her.
She submitted that the brothers, Thabo and Ngcebo, continued to assault her with fists and kicks all over the body even when she was lying on the ground.
She told the court that while lying on the ground, she saw Ngcebo carrying a knife and approaching her with it in his hand.
“The accused held Ngcebo and the knife fell on the ground. The accused was able to get to the knife first on the ground.
“According to the accused, no one among the patrons restrained Ngcebo as he approached her with the knife.
“When the accused got hold of the knife, she used it to stab Ngcebo once on the chest and, in her testimony, she had been severely assaulted by the duo.
“The accused stated that it was only upon realising that Ngcebo had been stabbed that the patrons sought to intervene and retrain the parties from further assaulting each other,” reads part of the judgment.
Sifundza said she borrowed a cellphone
in order to call the police and report about the incident.
The incident happened on January 1, 2020.
In his analysis of the evidence, Judge Dlamini said undisputed evidence was that Thabo started the entire dispute leading to the death of Ngcebo.
“It is not surprising that the crown elected not to call this witness to shed light on why he assaulted the accused with an open hand in the face.
“The evidence presented in court showed that Thabo Magagula slapped the accused without any provocation.
Incorrect
“It is, therefore, incorrect that the fight between the parties was started by the accused by allegedly spilling alcohol on Thabo Magagula.
“The evidence presented in court was that when the accused confronted Thabo Magagula’s group to enquire about the reason why she had been assaulted by Thabo, the latter, assisted by his brother, subjected the accused to more assault with fists, kicks and open hands until she fell on the ground,” said the judge.
Judge Dlamini also said there was sufficient evidence to conclude that it was the deceased who produced the knife with which he intended to use in further assaulting the accused.
The judge also mentioned that one of the witnesses, Sandile Magagula, was unshaken in his testimony that he saw the deceased holding a knife in his hand and that the accused and the deceased later wrestled for the knife.
The version given by Sifundza regarding ownership of the weapon used in the commission of the offence, according to the judge, appeared to be probable and factually correct.
Judge Dlamini said the act of stabbing Sifundza did not on its own establish an intent to kill.
“The facts must be considered as a whole.
“If it is an accepted fact that it was the deceased who produced a knife during the fight with the aim of causing harm to the accused, then by all means, the accused was entitled to take reasonable steps in defending herself.
“The only determination to be made is whether the force employed by the accused was reasonable in the circumstances.
“The accused cannot be said to have possessed the necessary dolus eventualis but at best was reckless in causing the death of the deceased.
“In the present case, the accused, though lacking the necessary mens rea to establish commission of the offence of murder, must have appreciated that plunging a knife deep on the left side of the chest, above the nipple, is likely to cause serious harm to her assailant and, despite this appreciation, accused still continued to act in the manner she did and thereby recklessly causing the death of her assailant.”
In sentencing her, the judge considered that Sifundza went up to Grade VI in school and was not a sophisticated person.
She survived by selling vegetables and chickens to members of the public.
Sifundza was represented by Nosisa Hlophe of Mongi Nsibande and Partners.