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A North West sangoma has been slapped with a life sentence for murder after he burnt and stabbed his girlfriend.
Thapelo Ramoruki, who is 29-years-old, doused petrol all over his girlfriend Tsholofelo Tsheko, set her on fire, and repeatedly stabbed her in the abdomen last year, a local publication reports. The Mogwase Regional Court also handed him six years in jail for pointing a gun and declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame told the court that on 12 January 2021, Ramoruki, Tsheko, their one-month-old baby, and Tsheko’s younger brother drove to a cemetery in Sandfontein in the North West to conduct a ritual for Ramoruki’s child.
Ramoruki took with him petrol, a pellet gun, a knife, and traditional beer to do the ritual. They then performed the ritual and then moved to a nearby dam to cleanse themselves before retiring for home.
At the dam, Ramoruki pointed a gun at himself, then later aimed it at Tsheko and demanded she gives the baby to her younger brother. Ramoruki ordered them to wait in the car and then proceeded to pour the petrol over Tsheko and set her alight, the court heard.
What followed was an extremely gory sight, as he went on to stab Tsheko in the abdomen multiple times as she was burning and screaming. Tsheko’s brother was startled by the terrifying Screams of his sister and he went to check, only to see his sister in flames.
He then took off with the car and sought help. Tsheko’s brother reported the incident to the police, who arrested Ramoruki at the scene of the crime. Tsheko was hospitalized but she sadly died the following day, after succumbing to multiple injuries, caused by stab and burn wounds.
In passing a life sentence on Thapelo Ramoruki, Judge Tebogo Djadje said there is a huge outcry on gender-based violence and femicide and courts should restore faith in communities on such serious offences.
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