The Scottburgh District Court on Friday sentenced a man convicted of murdering his fiancee in Malangeni, Mzinto, to life imprisonment in March last year.
On the day of the incident, it is said that the convicted person, Phumlani Myende (30), beat Ms. Cynthia Goba at a bar, then carried her to their house, the next day it was heard that she had died.
When evidence was heard in court, it emerged that Ms. Goba and Myende were in love and living together. It is said that on the day of the incident, Myende went to a bar and came across Ms. Goba, who was sitting with two men, drinking.
It is said that he was fed up, water was poured on him, he asked him about this, and accused him of not knowing his clothes. It turns out that the men intervened, begged her to calm down, and they ended up sitting together, drinking together.
It is understood that the two men ended up leaving the bar, but when one of them came back as it was about to close, Myende came and beat Ms. Goba. It turns out that he was hitting him with his knuckles, and kicking his head with his feet.
It turned out that when the man tried to mediate, Myende suddenly pulled out a knife and threatened to stab him. It is said that the man left, and came back with the man they had been with before, and they found him beating Ms. Goba, who was lying on the ground, motionless.
It is said that they told him that they were going to call the police, and he replied that he should just take Ms. Goba, shake her shoulders, and say that they were going home.
It turns out that they also went home to their hometown, but the next day they heard the news that Ms. Goba had died, and that Myende had mourned Sigonyela’s rings.
During the trial, these two are among the witnesses called by the State Prosecutor, Akhile Gcume to testify about what they saw.
In addition to them, another also testified that in the early morning of March 18, 2025, Myende knocked on his door and informed him that he had killed his girlfriend. He drove the witness to show him where the deceased had fallen, and informed the public.
Another witness told the court that at around 11 pm on March 17, 2025, Myende came to him to ask him to take Ms. Goba and go home because it was too late and he could not walk on his own.
It is said that when the man arrived at the incident, he noticed that Ms. Goba was cold and not breathing. It turns out that he told Myende that this person is dead, and then turned his back.
The medical examiner’s report revealed that the deceased died of blunt force trauma.
The statement written by the family of the deceased, recounting how much his killing hurt him, revealed that it hurt him, brought him grief and heartache. He pointed out that they are still trying to accept that the deceased is gone.
After hearing all this, the court then revealed that the incident was sexual violence against a woman (femicide). It said that Myende deserves a life sentence, and decided that it is no longer appropriate for him to carry a gun.
The spokesperson for the prosecution, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Mrs Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said she accepted both the sentences given to Myende.
“The sentence sends a strong message that violence against women will not be tolerated and the perpetrators will be brought to justice,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
He said harsh sentences like this one, paint a clear picture that the judiciary is determined to punish the perpetrators, and that the victims and their families get justice.