A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to 23 years’ direct imprisonment for strangling his girlfriend to death at their home in Boikhutso Trust in Mpumalanga.
Herold Mokoena was sentenced by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela on Tuesday August 25 after pleading guilty to the murder of his girlfriend, Shaleen Nyakallo Manyike.
NPA Mpumalanga spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said the sentence followed a plea and sentence agreement between Mokoena and the State in terms of Section 105A of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
Mokoena and Manyike were in a romantic relationship and lived together with their young child.
According to the agreed statement of facts before the court, Manyike received a WhatsApp voice note from another man on August 29, 2024.
Mokoena questioned her about the voice note and became enraged when she could not explain its origin.
Nyuswa said Mokoena then strangled Manyike with his hands until she became unresponsive.
Mokoena realised that Manyike was no longer breathing and placed her body on a bed.
He then contacted her grandmother and lied that Manyike had fallen from the bed and was unresponsive.
Manyike was taken to hospital in Mokoena’s father’s vehicle, where she was certified dead.
Mokoena was subsequently arrested and charged with murder.
During sentencing proceedings, the defence argued that Mokoena’s guilty plea, remorse and medical condition should be considered as mitigating factors.
The defence asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
However, State Advocate Senzo Zindela argued that murder remained a serious and prevalent crime, particularly in cases involving domestic and gender-based violence.
He told the court that Manyike was a young mother whose life had been brutally cut short by the person who was expected to love, protect and care for her.
Zindela also highlighted the impact of Manyike’s death on the couple’s young child, who had been deprived of the opportunity to grow up knowing and being nurtured by his mother.
The State handed in the postmortem report and photographic evidence in support of its case.
The court accepted the plea and sentence agreement and sentenced Mokoena to 23 years’ direct imprisonment for murder.
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Nyuswa said the NPA welcomed the sentence as an important step towards justice for Manyike and her grieving family.
“The sentence sends a strong message that acts of domestic violence and the killing of intimate partners will not be tolerated, and that perpetrators will be held accountable for their actions,” Nyuswa said.
She said the NPA remained committed to combating gender-based violence and femicide through the effective prosecution of offenders and the protection of vulnerable members of society.
Nyuswa urged victims and survivors of domestic violence to report incidents to law enforcement authorities and seek assistance from available support services
