Update

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The Mossel Bay Advertiser reported on the sentencing in the case of Naledi Phangindawo, who was murdered by the father of her children, Mlondi Ntlangulela.

Ntlangulela was sentenced to an effective 18 years' imprisonment.

Mossel Bay residents wrote various comments about the sentence on social media and described it as "poor" and "not long enough". Many social media users also said justice had not prevailed and that Ntlangulela should have been handed a harsher sentence, such as a life sentence.

The Advertiser asked a senior prosecutor to explain how a magistrate might decide on the sentence.

In terms of the law on minimum sentences, the starting point for murder is 15 years.

READ MORE: Naledi's killer gets 18 years

The magistrate in the Naledi case handed down a sentence of 18 years, more than the minimum of 15.

The law has a category in murder sentences, where life imprisonment can be handed down. 

This is, for example, in a case where the victim was killed during a robbery, or where a victim was also raped, or where a group of people took part in a murder. 

Also, in cases where a child has been murdered and was under 16 years of age at the time of the murder, a life sentence will apply.

There are, therefore, different categories.

In Naledi's murder case, the state could not provide sufficient evidence to prove the accused had planned the murder. There were also no other factors involved to justify a heavier sentence than the one handed down.

'We bring you the latest Mossel Bay, Garden Route news'