THE Vereeniging circuit court yesterday sentenced a polygamist to life for killing his pregnant first wife.

THE Vereeniging circuit court yesterday sentenced a polygamist to life for killing his pregnant first wife.

Jabulani Ndlovu, 34, was also sentenced to 10 years for attempting to kill his second wife and a further four years for possession of a firearm and ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently.

Judge Margaret Victor said yesterday that the sentence would give society confidence in the courts.

Ndlovu murdered a pregnant Prudence Dlamini on June 11 last year in their house in Orange Farm. Fourteen days later, he shot his second wife Tholakele Ngubane while they were having sex in the same house.

After being shot in the neck Tholakele escaped the house while naked. A neighbour hid her until she was taken to hospital by ambulance.

"You have showed no remorse during the trial. Your matrimonial issues did not justify that you commit crimes on them," Victor said.

"Being a man with traditional values who married two wives, if there were any problem in your relationships you should have solved them legally or traditionally.

"Instead you killed your seven- months-pregnant wife - and the child she was carrying also died with her. You wanted to extinguish them completely from this earth."

Ndlovu's employee Mzwenduku Ngubane, who was tried and convicted with him, was sentenced to eight years in jail for being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Ngubane was convicted for helping his boss dispose of Dlamini's body and for keeping silent about the killing.

The two men loaded her body into Ndlovu's car and dumped it in the open veld. They then fetched the body the following day and drove to a municipal dumping site where they abandoned it.

Victor said Ndlovu had premeditated his crimes and had succeeded in killing Dlamini.

Ndlovu earlier pleaded with the court to impose a lesser sentence because he wanted to be with his children - and to see where his wife was eventually buried.