A 39-year-old man in South Africa will spend every breathe of his life behind bars after a court found him guilty for the murder of his former girlfriend and sentenced him to life.

TimesLive reports that Police in the Northern Cape have welcomed the life sentence handed down on Tuesday to Thabang Leonard Moqhobai for the murder which happened in 2019.

Moqhobai, 39, had confronted Elsie Chabalala, 37,  about her new boyfriend in Ritchie, near Kimberley, on the afternoon of October 12 2019.

During that confrontation, Moqhobai stabbed Chabalala six times in the street close to her home.

Chabalala died on the scene and Moqhobai was arrested a few minutes later.

Moqhobai was found guilty by the high court in Kimberley last week.

He was sentenced on Tuesday.