Former model to spend 25 years in prison
THE 23-year-old man who killed his ex-girlfriend and aspiring model Simnikiwe Mfengu has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Western Cape High Court.
Former model Muepa Kasongo, who admitted he killed Mfengu and left her for dead, was ordered to spend 25 years in Pollsmoor Prison as a firsttime offender after he stabbed the retail worker 11 times in what he described as a “spiritual” black out.
Kasongo, who was 19-years-old and a student at CPUT when the crime was committed, explained in court that he stabbed Mfengu during a physical altercation after they had spent the night together.
Mfengu was trying to get out of the relationship when Kasongo went to see her at a residence in Silversands in December 2018.
In handing down sentence, Judge Daniel Thulare said: “Six of the 11 stab wounds were on the deceased’s back, which were blows she suffered when she had her back to the accused as she unsuccessfully attempted to flee from the stabbing.
“The accused could not explain why he continued to stab the deceased even after she had collapsed, except to say that he was consumed by some strange spirit,” he said.
The judge further noted Kasongo as having a “dual personality”, displaying one kind of behaviour with family and another to the victim.
“We should show that we heed the public’s constitutional call to make the punishment of crimes against women, especially their brutal, cruel and unnecessary killing more severe as part of the overall responsibility of the Republic of South Africa to provide a conducive environment for women to live and love without fear of physical, psychological, economic and sexual abuse and violence,” Judge Thulare said.