The verdict ended the glamorous wardrobe, brazen laughter, petulant utterances and stroppy attitude that Mulalo Sivhidzho displayed to members of her dead husband's family

THE woman who "showed no mercy" to the husband she had murdered was yesterday shown no mercy by the judge who presided over her case.

Yesterday Johannesburg high court acting Judge Naren Pandya gave "black widow" Mulalo Sivhidzho, 33, a life sentence and eight additional years for hiring hitmen to kill her husband of six months, Avhatakali Netshisaulu.

The verdict ended the glamorous wardrobe, brazen laughter, petulant utterances and stroppy attitude Sivhidzho displayed to members of her dead husband's family and to the journalists who covered the case for the past four years. The judge said yesterday that the murder of the chartered accountant was carried out with "extreme brutality".

"The deceased was still alive, after having been assaulted, tied up and placed inside the boot of his car. Petrol was poured over him. He died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He died a cruel death. He was cremated while still alive. It was clear that the deceased was shown no mercy," Judge Pandya said.

On December 7 2006, Netshisaulu's bludgeoned and charred body was found in the boot of his burnt-out car in Muldersdrift, north of Johannesburg.

Hitman Ntambudzeni Matsenene, 34, was the first to be arrested three days after the killing. The second hired killer, Arnold Sello, 33, was arrested the following day. It took police a further 16 days to arrest Sivhidzho.

They first wanted to observe her behaviour at her husband's funeral, where she duly played the role of grieving widow. All the while, her father-in-law, former City Press editor Mathatha Tsedu, and the Netshisaulu family knew she was lying.

Sivhidzho and her hitmen have consistently denied having anything to do with Netshisaulu's murder. Yesterday, all insisted they had been wrongfully convicted.

Judge Pandya sentenced Matsenene to the maximum of life in prison, and five years for kidnapping and three years for malicious damage to property. Sello received the same sentence, and an additional 15 years for aggravated robbery.

As he was being led down to the cells Matsenene said: "I am not feeling good that I will be going to jail but there is nothing I can do. Life is just like that. I consider this as bad luck. A lot of innocent people are convicted for crimes they did not commit. I plan to appeal thisverdict."

Judge Pandya said: "There was careful planning that went into the murder. (Netshisaulu) no doubt trusted Matsenene, who not only found hitmen but also enticed (him) into a trap that night."

State counsel Maro Papachristoforou said Matsenene "led the sheep to be slaughtered". Pandya said Sivhidzho played a pivotal role.

"She knew he was going to be killed that night and the vicinity. She went and searched for the deceased and refused to go to the police station," he said, adding that she directed the friend who drove her to the murder scene, straight to it.

But her former father-in-law said she caused his family nothing but pain.

"She has hurt the two families in a way that we find no words to describe. We hope she is able to live with her own conscience," Tsedu said.