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A 31-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his girlfriend.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in the North West division, Henry Mamothame, said Johannes Damcy Dielele, 36, was sentenced at the North West High Court.
Dielele was sentenced to a further five years for unlawful possession of a firearm and three years for possession of ammunition. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
He shot his girlfriend in Boikhutso, near Lichtenburg, on August 4, 2018.
He went to his girlfriend's home and did not find her.
"He then requested her younger sister to alert him when his girlfriend arrived, which she did.
He subsequently drove back to his lover’s home and was told she went to an outside toilet.
"It was testified in court that an argument ensued between the two, leading to the accused collecting his gun from the car and shooting his girlfriend in full view of her younger sister," Mamothane said.
"The deceased’s mother also came out of the house and saw the accused before he could flee the scene."
The matter was reported to the police, and Dielele was found hiding in his car in Lichtenburg the following day.
He was denied bail. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
"In aggravation of sentence, the State prosecutor, advocate Cain Nontenjwa, urged the court not to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence of life imprisonment, as there were no compelling circumstances to do so. He further argued that the accused's conduct has left their seven-year-old daughter in a traumatic state that will affect her life for a long time.
"Judge Sandiswa Mfenyana agreed with the State and remarked on the character displayed by the accused of being remorseless for his actions," Mamothame said
IOL