A 35-year-old man named Bantubenkosi Siqotyana has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Nombeko Thobigunya.

The sentence was handed down by the Eastern Cape High Court in Mthatha on August 28, 2024. Siqotyana was found guilty of killing Thobigunya in December 2023 and then dismembering her body, which he disposed of in pit toilets to conceal the crime.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, “Thobigunya was reported missing by her family on December 13, 2023.”

The case began when a human hand was discovered in Thembeni, which was identified by a friend of Thobigunya.

This led to Siqotyana, who was later assaulted by the community and forced to reveal where he had hidden the body parts.

Siqotyana initially denied murdering Thobigunya but admitted to violating her corpse, claiming she had died from food poisoning, a claim disproven by trial evidence.

See his photos below…