Two men from KwaZulu-Natal have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the Greytown Regional Court for murder.

The suspects, who cannot be named to protect the star witness, who is a minor, from secondary trauma, are aged 21 and 28.

The court heard the incident took place in December 2019. The 28-year-old man had been in a relationship with the victim and the couple shared a five-year-old daughter.

During 2018, the woman broke off the relationship due to the boyfriend’s violent nature. She also obtained a protection order against him.

On December 2, 2019, the woman, who was pregnant with someone else’s baby, was at her home with her daughter when the two cousins broke down the door and entered the home.

They overpowered the pregnant mother and started hacking her with a panga and a bush knife. The attack went on for approximately 30 minutes. The pregnant mother and her unborn child died at the scene.

The court heard that the woman’s ex-boyfriend approached his five-year-old daughter with the intention of killing her, but his co-accused stopped him and they fled the scene.

Once they were out of sight, the five-year-old girl ran to the neighbours to get help. The duo subsequently handed themselves over to the police and were immediately arrested.

State Prosecutor Premier Naidoo led the testimony of the young girl who had witnessed the vicious attack on her mother.

Neighbours also testified they heard the cries for help from the victim.

In court, the five-year-old girl was able to identify her mother’s attackers – her own father and her uncle – and relate in detail what took place.

The court also heard, via the victim impact statement, the young girl suffers from nightmares following the horrific crime and misses her mother.

During sentencing, the court ordered each of the accused life imprisonment. They were also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said it welcomed the sentencing.

“Together with our partners in the crime prevention cluster, we remain steadfast in our fight against gender-based violence and intimate partner femicide,” she said.

robin.francke@iol.co.za

IOL

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