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The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has sentenced Dumisani Mkhwanazi to an effective 31 years in jail for killing University of Johannesburg student Palesa Madiba on 12 August 2013.
Mkhwanazi was sentenced to 20 years for murder, three years for theft of a cellphone, eight years for defeating the ends of justice, 10 years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and two years for the possession of ammunition. However, Judge Prince Manyathi ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Madiba’s family members in the gallery ululated after Manyathi delivered his sentence.
Madiba was murdered after she went missing following a sleepover at her friend Tshidi Mkhwanazi’s home in Phiri, Soweto. Tshidi is Dumisani Mkhwanazi’s niece. He was found guilty of her murder on 4 December last year.
Madiba’s body was discovered in the yard behind Tshidi’s home in December 2015 after a neighbour noticed an arm protruding from a shallow grave, News24 previously reported.
