Kedibone Lonia Nyathi, a 47-year-old woman, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for murdering her husband, Sandy Nyathi.
She had hired three young men to kill her husband and staged a hijacking to cover up the crime.
The three men, Remember Surprise Malepe, Ethen Raganya, and Poopo Ventry Mabela, were initially co-accused but became state witnesses after entering into a plea and sentence agreement.
Nyathi initially pleaded not guilty but later changed her plea and negotiated a plea and sentence agreement with the state.
She admitted to paying the men R15,000 to kill her husband and stage a hijacking. The prosecution argued that the murder was committed out of greed, as Nyathi stood to gain from her husband’s life insurance policies.
The court found the plea and sentence agreement to be in the interests of justice and sentenced Nyathi to 25 years of direct imprisonment.
Nyathi was also declared unfit to possess a firearm. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomed the sentence, and the Director of Public Prosecutions commended the state advocate and investigation officer for building a strong case against Nyathi.
The case was heard in the High Court of South Africa, Limpopo Division, in Polokwane.
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