A man who shot dead his ex-girlfriend in front of shocked colleagues at the school at which she was working, during Women's Month, will serve 25 years behind bars. 

The case against Mbuyiseli Nodongwe was concluded in the Mthatha regional court on Monday.  

“It was reported that the deceased, Noloyiso Gqeba, was at a school where she worked as a cleaner, when Mbuyiseli Nodongwe, who was in a relationship with her, arrived and shot her with a firearm. Noloyiso, aged 35, died at the scene,” said police spokesperson Brig Tembinkosi Kinana. 

“The incident left co-workers shattered as they witnessed tragic scenes of the cold-blooded murder of the woman and escaping of the suspect from the scene of crime,”  Kinana added. 

SowetanLIVE sister publication DispatchLIVE reported that Gqeba was working as a cleaner at the school as part of a Covid-19 support team when she was killed on August 24 2020.

Police had searched for him in the mountains and Gqogqorha forests where he was believed to have been hiding. He eventually handed himself in at the Mthatha central police station.

Police commissioner Lt-Gen Liziwe Ntshinga welcomed the sentence, saying it would serve as a lesson and deterrent to would-be perpetrators of gender-based violence and femicide.

She also praised the detectives who worked on the case, saying they ensured that justice was meted out speedily.

“The sentencing has been done in less than a year from the time this crime was committed. I have no doubt that justice has been served and that is what our communities need,” Ntshinga said.

TimesLIVE