GBV Slain Actress Thandeka Mdleliswa’s Murder Trial Commences

GBV Slain Actress Thandeka Mdleliswa‘s Murder Trial Commences. Gender Based Violence has been ruled as one of the highest causes of death amongst females. Social media has given us access to information about different women who have suffered from gender based crimes and some have unfortunately lost their lives at the hands of their partners.

Last year in September, reports confirmed the death of Ikani actress Thandeka Mdleliswa after an altercation broke out between two men and her brother. According to police, when Mdeliswa went to address the two men, the argument became violent and one of them grabbed his friend’s firearm and allegedly shot Mdeliswa and fled the scene after.

The actress murder trial is actively underway and according to reports, the man who murdered Mdeliswa was sentenced to 25 years in jail by the Mpumalanga High Court yesterday. Siyabonga Mbatha (25) from KwaZulu Natal was found guilty of the murder of Mdeliswa after pleading guilty to the allegations.

According to the Daily Sun publication, Mbatha has been convicted of three charges including possession of an unlicensed firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

In a plea to the court, Mbatha admitted that he and his friend Ndabandaba went to collect a cellular phone from the actress’s brother in Evander. Upon arrival, an argument over money broke out when the actress went to see what was happening outside and Mbatha took Ndabandaba’s firearm and shot Mdeliswa in the neck. Thandeka was rushed to hospital but succumbed to the injuries two days later.

Thandeka‘s mother who testified in aggravation of the sentence shared the medical effects that her daughter’s traumatic murder , including the stress of her granddaughter who was robbed of her mother

The court sentenced Mbatha to twenty-five years for murder, fifteen years for possession of unlicensed firearm and three years imprisonment for unlawful possession of ammunition.