Mantsoe Sandile Sentenced To 32 Years In Prison For Murder Of Karabo Mokoena

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The South Gauteng High Court on Thursday, sentenced Sandile Mantsoe to effective 32 years in prison. Mantsoe was found guilty on Wednesday of the the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Karabo Mokoena. The court also found him guilty of defeating the ends of justice and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Acting judge Peet Johnson was scathing in his sentencing of Mantsoe…

“The court cannot describe you in any other way but as a devil in disguise‚” Johnson said as he read through his judgment in the High Court in Johannesburg. I am guessing you thought that your riches would get you everywhere but they got you nowhere‚” he added. While Mantsoe’s lawyer had pushed to get him a minimum sentence‚ Johnson said he “deserved nothing less than a harsh punishment, emphasising that he would need to pay the price for killing Mokoena.

He said there were no mitigating factors to give him a lesser sentence. Describing Mantsoe as a danger to society‚ Johnson sentenced Mantsoe to 30 years for murder‚ a further five years for assault and four years for defeating the ends of justice‚ adding that he had given a bad name to men.

Two of the five years for the assault and three of the four years for the obstruction of justice would run concurrently with the murder sentence. His effective sentence amounts to 32 years, the court said. During sentencing proceedings earlier in the morning, Mantsoe said:

“I am very remorseful. I knew a lot of things about her that she was trying to escape from. Both me and her were very secretive. I feel like I had failed her. I felt like the good that we have worked on… I disappointed her. It hurt me because I inspired her a lot”