By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
30 April 2025- A Mozambican woman was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment by the Gauteng North High Court sitting in Benoni. This comes after a Mozambican woman, Penina Felipe Sambo (38), who is residing at Ratanda, was arrested for premeditated murder of a girl, Melokuhle Ngwenya (3).
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in Gauteng, Lumka Mahanjana said on 3 April 2024, Melokuhle left her place of residence in Ratanda after receiving money from her grandfather to buy sweets at their neighbour’s residence. Mahanjana said on her arrival at the neighbour’s residence, where Sambo resided, she sold her some sweets and thereafter sat with her on the couch. After a few minutes, Sambo began to strangle her to death and thereafter threw her body into a recycle bin outside.
“When the child did not return home, her mother went to the police station and reported her missing. The police went to Sambo’s place, where the child was last seen. After searching Sambo’s place, the body of the child was found in the dust bin.
“Sambo was arrested on the scene and has been in custody since. In her guilty plea, Sambo said she committed the offences because she was acting out of the anger she had towards the mother of the child as she believed that she was having an affair with her boyfriend,” she said.
Mahanjana further said during sentencing, Sambo requested the court to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence, arguing that she is a first-time offender and her pleading guilty demonstrated remorse.
The state prosecutor, advocate Sipho Lalani argued that Sambo was found guilty of serious offenses that are prevalent in the court’s jurisdiction. Lalani added that, the deceased was a minor at the time of her death and the family of the deceased are aggrieved by the loss of their child.
“Therefore, we ask the court to impose a sentence that would send a strong message to society,” he said.
When handing down the sentence, the Judge, France Van Der Westhuizen, said that he was satisfied with Sambo’s guilty plea. Der Westhuizen said even though the law prescribes that a serious sentence of life imprisonment should be given to such crimes, he believes that the sentence handed down is appropriate.
The Guardian 