17 years imprisonment for Plett man who stabbed girlfriend after finding her naked in another man's bed

A 43-year-old man who stabbed his girlfriend in the neck after finding her naked in another man's bed in 2023, has been sentenced to 17 years imprisonment.

Lukhanyiso Educator Ndoya appeared in the Plettenberg Bay Regional Court where he pleaded guilty and was subsequently sentenced.

In April last year, Ndoya confessed to stabbing his lover, Lungiswa Dumiso, twice in the neck after finding her in another man's home in Bossiesgif.

Provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said Ndoya told the court he and Dumiso were in a domestic relationship for six years and partly lived during that time.

"On the day of the incident, he visited her at her house in Bossiesgif, Plettenberg Bay, but she was not at her house. He looked for her at another house where he had previously seen her. After he knocked, the door opened, and she got out of the bed as he entered the house. He asked her what she was doing at that house and told her to put her clothes on as she was naked," Ntabazalila said.

Furious at what he found, Ndoya asked Dumiso to take a walk with him.

"He slapped and pulled her. She fell and he again slapped and pulled her. She bit his finger, and he took out a knife and stabbed her twice in the neck," Ntabazalila said.

Ndoya's attempts to flee were thwarted after a woman walked passed, hearing Dumiso's screams.

Residents quickly gathered, assaulted and apprehended him, and handed him over to police.

Dumiso was critically injured and had to be airlifted to hospital for further care.

Officers took him to hospital.

Ntabazalila noted that Ndoya acknowledged that he acted out of anger and should have not assaulted Dumiso.

Regional court prosecutor, Johannes Marx asked the court to impose a substantial term of direct imprisonment as there was a high prevalence of violent crimes and gender-based violence, and further argued about the vulnerability of female victims in general and specifically those in a domestic relationship.

The couple, according to the NPA, have since rekindled their relationship after Dumiso forgave Ndoya.

This, Marx said is not a unique phenomenon. It often happens that victims tolerate and even accommodate violent behaviour from their partners.

Meanwhile, Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, congratulated the prosecution and investigation team for their effort to ensure justice for the victim even though she had rekindled her relationship with the accused.

Ntabazalila said the fact that the sentencing happened at the end of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign is a sign that the State’s efforts to take the fight against gender-based violence and femicide is a year-round fight with no room for complacency.

seanne.rall@iol.co.za

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