Ten years in jail for ex-boyfriend who attacked matric pupil with panga

A Mpumalanga man who attacked his ex-girlfriend with a panga, wounding her so severely she was in a coma for 48 hours, has been handed a 10-year jail term.

Nomfundo Mahlangu, 23, was a grade 12 pupil at Sidlamafa Secondary School, Kamhlushwa, when she narrowly escaped death in 2021, police spokesperson Brig Selvy Mohlala said.

“Nomfundo was slashed repeatedly on her head and arms, causing a fracture on her hand as well as serious ear injuries.”

She was rescued when community members heard the attack and entered her home.

The ex-boyfriend, Doctor Khoza, 26, fled the scene.

“Kamhlushwa detectives worked tirelessly to locate the suspect until his arrest a year later, in November 2022, at his hiding place in Carolina.”

Khoza was sentenced in the Nkomazi regional court on Tuesday.

Mpumalanga police commissioner Lt-Gen Semakaleng Daphney Manamela said she “strongly believes perpetrators of gender-based violence as well as those who abuse women and children will learn a lesson from this sentence”.

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