Mossel Bay man who killed girlfriend, best friend sentenced

Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay man who killed his best friend before stabbing his girlfriend 16 times in KwaNonqaba in November last year is set to spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Luvuyo Mgwelana (43) and Nwabisa Baliso (45) were killed by Vusumzi Ntsodolo (50) on the morning of 8 November last year.

On Monday 26 October, Ntsodolo was sentenced to life imprisonment for Baliso’s murder and 15 years for Mgwelana’s murder at the Mossel Bay Regional Court.

He pleaded guilty to both murders in September this year, and the matter was postponed for sentencing and a report from the probation officer.

During sentencing, the court heard that Ntsodolo believed his best friend and his girlfriend, Baliso, were having an affair - a claim Baliso’s family vehemently denied throughout the court proceedings.

According to Ntsodolo’s plea statement, the friends had been together the previous evening when, the accused said, Mgwelana implied that he was having an affair with Baliso. The two went their separate ways.

Luvuyo Mgwelana

The following morning, while Ntsodolo was cooking, he received a voice note from Mgwelana, who he claimed sounded angry. He asked Ntsodolo to meet him at a tavern, but he refused, and Mgwelana came to his house. Here, he pushed Ntsodolo, who pushed back, grabbed a knife and stabbed his friend in the chest, Ntsodolo stated.

After this, the court heard, Ntsodolo left his home with the knife he had used to kill Mgwelana and made his way to Baliso’s house. When he learned she was not home, he asked her daughter, Esihle Baliso, to call her mother.

Ntsodolo’s statement said that when Baliso arrived, he began stabbing her in front of her daughter.

Presiding Magistrate Jerome Koeries said the attack must have been brutal because, according to the post-mortem report, Baliso sustained 16 wounds, which included one to her face, two to her neck, four to her back, one to her right shoulder and three or four defensive wounds to her hands.

Nwabisa Baliso

“In other words, Nwabisa tried to defend herself against the accused, but lost the fight, so to speak,” said Koeries.

After stabbing Baliso, the court heard that Ntsodolo was chased by members of the community and ran to a house, where he stabbed himself in the chest three times. He was arrested while receiving treatment at a hospital.

Defence asks for lesser sentence
During sentencing, the defence argued that the court should deviate from the minimum prescribed sentences for these charges (15 years and life imprisonment). The defence argued that several substantial and compelling circumstances necessitated a lesser sentence.

The circumstances listed by the defence included the fact that Ntsodolo had pleaded guilty, had shown remorse, had been assaulted by members of the community, was a first-time offender with no history of violence and had been in custody since his arrest 11 months earlier.

The defence also argued that the minimum prescribed sentences would be disproportionate to the facts of the case, the interests of society and the accused’s personal circumstances.

Victim impact statement
State prosecutor Makhi Cutshe led the argument against the defence by opening with the victim impact statement by Esihle, which was prepared by court preparation officer Sylvia Willie.

In the statement, Esihle said: “She was everything to us. After our father died in 2007, she took care of us... She was a bubbly person and we shared everything together. She was a best friend, a family pillar, the person who would always hold the family together”.

The statement said Baliso’s death had deeply affected the family, particularly because she was killed at their home, a place they considered their safe space.

Regional court prosecutor Makhi Cutshe and court preparation officer Sylvia Willie. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse

“Every day it reminds me of the brutality of what happened to my mother. She was killed in front of me. In that moment, she went from being a bubbly person to crying and being in fear... From the day of the incident until now, I have flashbacks. I have problems sleeping... After my mother’s passing, I had to step up and become the mother of the house. Everything my mother did for us, I now have to do.

“My younger brother is not alright. At night, he just breaks down and cries all night. I fear knives; I can’t even use one. When it was near court dates, I couldn’t sleep because I was scared to see Vusumzi’s face. It gives me flashbacks...”

Prosecutor’s argument
Cutshe argued that the murders were motivated by jealousy and anger, and that Ntsodolo had not acted on impulse.

He said: “It cannot be accepted that some men feel that when a woman is in a romantic relationship with them, there is some sort of entitlement or that she has suddenly become his property... It is the state’s submission that he is a textbook example of intimate partner and domestic terrorism by male entitlement...

“Our courts have repeatedly affirmed that gender-based violence and femicide have reached epidemic proportions in South Africa. Courts must send an unequivocal message that ex-partners are not personal property and that a romantic relationship can never serve as a reason for violence,” he said.

The sentencing
When handing down Ntsodolo’s sentence, Koeries said that when Ntsodolo heard about the affair the previous evening, he had the opportunity to digest the news. He also had the opportunity to stop what he was doing while on his way to Baliso’s house, but chose instead to confront her and stab her multiple times.

Koeries said that, after considering the circumstances of the murders, relevant case law and the interests of society, among other factors, there were no substantial and compelling reasons to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentences.

He was thus sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and life imprisonment, to run concurrently. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Mossel Bay Advertiser made an application to photograph Ntsodolo at court however the application was denied. The reason for the denial is unknown.

KwaNonqaba detective Warrant Officer Geoffrey Moos and Sergeant José Cunha. Photo: Chelsea Pieterse

The efforts of the prosecution, together with those of KwaNonqaba police Detective Sergeant José Cunha, under the guidance of veteran detective Warrant Officer Geoffrey Moos, helped secure the conviction.

Read the print edition of the Mossel Bay Advertiser on Friday 30 October to read Baliso’s family’s statements on the sentencing.

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