A Mpumalanga man who raped and beat his girlfriend to death, hiding her body under his bed has been sentenced to life and 20 years in prison.
The Ermelo Magistrate’s Court has convicted and sentenced Tolly Sibusiso Mnisi, 37, to life and an additional 20 years of imprisonment for the premeditated murder and rape of his girlfriend, Nokuthula Sidu, 34.
The accused and the deceased had a two-year-old child together.
On July 3, 2021, the victim visited the accused at his home in Wesselton, and an altercation ensued.
It resulted in Mnisi assaulting the victim with fists and a mop stick until it broke. He then raped her and put her in his bed.
“The following morning, the accused realised that the victim was no longer breathing and hid her body under the bed,” NPA regional spokesperson.
“He then took their child to the victim’s house and told the family that he did not know the victim’s whereabouts.
“The deceased’s body was found two days later by the deceased’s brother, who alerted the police,” Nyuswa said.
In court, the accused admitted hitting the victim with a mop but denied the offences of rape and murder.
State prosecutor Chan Rothman, led evidence from the victim’s brother, who made the discovery, as well as the evidence of the eyewitnesses.
The State presented a postmortem report, which proved that the victim died due to blunt trauma injuries to the head and vaginal injuries.
Prosecutor Rothman told the court that the victim died a painful death at the hands of the accused, and she further addressed the court about the scourge of gender-based violence in society, arguing for a suitable sentence.
Magistrate Eben Jonker found the evidence of State witnesses overwhelming and credible and found the accused guilty on two counts.
“The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for premeditated murder and additional 20 years for rape,” Nyuswa said.
IOL