A man who killed his wife and buried her under a bath in their home in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape in 2019 has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The high court in Mthatha sentenced Yibanathi MacGyver Ndema, 45, on Wednesday. Ndema murdered his wife Noluvuyo Nonkwelo, 36, on July 1 2019.
“On July 3 2019, he reported his wife as a missing person to the police, even though he knew that was not true,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said.
When delivering the sentence, judge Buyiswa Majiki directed the children of the couple to continue receiving trauma counselling as they were traumatised by the murder of their mother by their father, whom they used to trust and love.
Tyali said the marriage had been marred by domestic abuse incidents, with the court convicting Ndema of the September 2018, January 2019 and June 27 2019 assaults on his wife.
“The assaults were by a stick, clenched fists, open hands, burning her with hot water and pulling her hair.”
Ndema was arrested in August 2021 after Nonkwelo’s remains were found buried underneath a bath in the bathroom of the house the couple shared.
The children alerted their grandparents that since their mother’s disappearance the bath had been repositioned. During the trial, Ndema pleaded not guilty.
He also distanced himself from a confession he made to the police admitting he had strangled his wife because she was having an extramarital affair, necessitating a trial-within-a-trial.
“The court ultimately admitted the confession.”
TimesLIVE
Life for man who killed wife, buried her under bath at home
Image: NPA Communications.
A man who killed his wife and buried her under a bath in their home in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape in 2019 has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The high court in Mthatha sentenced Yibanathi MacGyver Ndema, 45, on Wednesday. Ndema murdered his wife Noluvuyo Nonkwelo, 36, on July 1 2019.
“On July 3 2019, he reported his wife as a missing person to the police, even though he knew that was not true,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said.
When delivering the sentence, judge Buyiswa Majiki directed the children of the couple to continue receiving trauma counselling as they were traumatised by the murder of their mother by their father, whom they used to trust and love.
Tyali said the marriage had been marred by domestic abuse incidents, with the court convicting Ndema of the September 2018, January 2019 and June 27 2019 assaults on his wife.
“The assaults were by a stick, clenched fists, open hands, burning her with hot water and pulling her hair.”
Ndema was arrested in August 2021 after Nonkwelo’s remains were found buried underneath a bath in the bathroom of the house the couple shared.
The children alerted their grandparents that since their mother’s disappearance the bath had been repositioned. During the trial, Ndema pleaded not guilty.
He also distanced himself from a confession he made to the police admitting he had strangled his wife because she was having an extramarital affair, necessitating a trial-within-a-trial.
“The court ultimately admitted the confession.”
TimesLIVE
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