This article first appeared in the 29 June 2022 edition of the Cape Argus newspaper.
Cape Town - The family of Sesi Sibanyoni, who was killed in her Maitland flat in July 2019, are hoping that the ex-boyfriend who was found guilty of her murder gets life imprisonment for his crimes.
Abraham Mtsweni has been convicted on both counts of rape and murder in the Western Cape High Court and will be back in court on August 15 for sentencing.
The guilty verdict was based on the evidence put forward by the State accusing Mtsweni of strangling Sibanyoni to death after they had been in an argument.
Mtsweni was arrested after he fled Cape Town, while on his way to Pretoria. Police found Sibanyoni’s keys to her flat in Mtsweni’s car.
The family has endured an agonising trial, travelling back and forth to Gauteng while court proceedings suffered numerous delays.
Sesi’s father and human rights commissioner Jonas Sibanyoni said, “We are looking forward to the day when the sentence will be imposed, given the long journey that we have been travelling, and we are hoping for life imprisonment, and if possible life imprisonment for each of the offences because we feel that would be a deserving sentence for him.”
He said that Mtsweni being known to the family made his actions much more disturbing, especially his conduct during the trial.
“He never showed any remorse and he was hiding many things regarding what happened. He insulted my daughter by saying that she was using drugs and then also tried to come up with a story to say there are other people who committed the crime who were trying implicate him but his story does not hold water,” Sibanyoni said.
He also said he was pleased in the way the matter was conducted: “We are happy that the police did their work by effecting an arrest so shortly after the crime was committed and we are also satisfied by the prosecution, who did a splendid job by making use of all the evidence they had. I believe that justice has been served.”