The Estcourt Regional Court sentenced Ndoda Mbatha to life and 10 years imprisonment for the murder and rape of a 26-year-old woman in the Vumbu area of Estcourt in September 2018.
Regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the deceased and her friend had gone out for drinks on September 1, 2018, when they met Mbatha, 40, whom neither of them had known.
“The deceased started talking to him. She left with him and at some stage, her friend phoned her telling her that she wanted to go to another place. The deceased advised that she would meet her friend at their agreed location. The deceased’s phone was switched off when her friend tried to call her again,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
The following day community members in the area alerted police to the deceased’s body which was found in some bushes. Her clothes, shoes and a used condom were found nearby. Since Mbatha had fled the area after committing the offence (and was unknown to the deceased’s friend) he could not be identified, and the evidence found at the scene was sent to the local criminal record centre (LCRC) for analysis.
In May 2022, Mbatha was arrested for another offence and the buccal swabs (DNA sample from the inside of the cheek) taken from him upon arrest, linked him to the rape and murder of the deceased, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
In court, prosecutor Nokubonga Buthelezi led the evidence of the deceased’s friend, the South African Police Service (SAPS) members who visited the murder crime scene as well as members from the LCRC who linked Mbatha to the deceased death.
The evidence of the doctor who performed a post mortem on the deceased also formed part of the state’s case. The doctor advised the court that the deceased’s cause of death was strangulation and that a gynaecological examination revealed injuries inside her genital organs. In aggravation of sentence, Ms Buthelezi led the testimony of the deceased’s sister who told the court that the deceased had left behind two small children, one being a baby. The woman also told the court that her deceased sister had been employed and had taken care of them.
In his evidence Mbatha denied knowledge of the deceased, and could not explain how his DNA had come to be at the scene.
“Mbatha was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 10 years imprisonment for rape. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently resulting in an effective sentence of life imprisonment. Mbatha was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
