In a single, brutal act of intimate-partner femicide, a KwaZulu-Natal mother was murdered by her partner, leaving her two young children effectively orphaned by gender-based violence.
As her family confronts irreversible loss, the 39-year-old perpetrator has begun serving a life sentence — another case underscoring South Africa’s endless gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) problem.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara confirmed that on Monday, 8 December 2025, the Madadeni Regional Court imposed life imprisonment for the April 2024 murder of a woman from Osizweni.
Outlining the evidence presented at trial, Ramkisson-Kara said: “The accused and the deceased were involved in a relationship, and the accused was employed to look after a homestead in the area, so he and the deceased lived on the property together. Before the incident (the day before), the accused told his friend that the deceased had cheated on him and that she had used a love potion on him.”
The next day, the accused confessed the murder to the same friend, again citing allegations of infidelity and a supposed love potion.
“The accused showed him the knife he had used to commit the offence. They then went to the accused’s employer’s homestead, where the accused told his employer what he had done,” she said.
The perpetrator then led both men to the victim’s body. Despite pleas from his employer to surrender to police, he fled and was later arrested in North West province.
During court proceedings, Prosecutor Zama Zikalala secured conviction through testimony from the employer and the friend, supported by postmortem findings. In her victim-impact testimony, the deceased’s mother explained that her daughter had been the sole breadwinner and caregiver, underscoring the long-term harm inflicted on the children and extended family.
Along with a life sentence for murder, the court declared the offender unfit to possess a firearm.
“The NPA welcomes the successful finalisation of the matter. Curbing the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide is an organisational priority, and as South Africa observes the 16 Days of Activism Campaign, we remain resolute in our fight for justice on behalf of victims and their families,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Furthermore, this KwaZulu-Natal sentencing comes amid heightened national attention during the 16 Days of Activism. According to Mary Dobbie of the Newcastle Crisis Centre, the Amajuba District — covering Newcastle, Dannhauser and Utrecht — has already lost seven women to domestic violence this year.
Dobbie noted a recurring challenge in combating abuse: many victims remain with or return to dangerous partners. “Some women believe that seeking help is beneath them because they have a nice house, a nice car, and material comforts, so they feel they can take a beating every Friday night. But women need to know there is help available, and they do not have to live with this abuse,” she said.
SAPS crime statistics for the First and Second Quarters of the 2025/2026 financial year further illustrate the depth of the problem, with persistently high levels of murder, rape, sexual offences and assault GBH — all key indicators of gender-based violence and femicide risk. KwaZulu-Natal remains one of the provinces most severely affected, regularly appearing in the national Top 30 for murder and sexual offences, and contributing more than 19% of national rape cases.
These realities align with the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster’s ongoing 90-day GBV+F Blitz launched in May 2025, which aims to accelerate interventions in high-risk communities.
Addressing the country in his weekly newsletter on Monday, 8 December 2025, President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated that gender-based violence and femicide now constitute a national disaster requiring extraordinary national action.
“As South Africa and the world observes 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence from 25 November to 10 December, it is a shame that our country has the dubious distinction of having one of the world’s highest levels of violence against women and girls,” he wrote.
Citing the Human Sciences Research Council’s 2022 National GBV Study, Ramaphosa noted that more than 35% of South African women aged 18 and older have experienced physical or sexual violence, most often at the hands of intimate partners — research underpinning the National Strategic Plan on GBVF.
He warned that the societal damage caused by GBVF is “arguably even more corrosive” than the COVID-19 pandemic. “Gender-based violence destroys families, has an economic cost, causes instability and fear for women and girls, and reproduces inter-generational trauma,” he said.
The disaster declaration strengthens mandates for the Police, Justice, Social Development, Health and Basic Education departments to accelerate survivor support, expand shelters, and fast-track the implementation of the 2022 anti-GBV laws. Recent parliamentary briefings have cited improvements in victim-friendly rooms, specialised GBV desks, forensic turnaround times, and 24-hour protection-order services — though Ramaphosa acknowledged that progress on the National Strategic Plan remains uneven.
“A national disaster demands national responsibility,” he said. “Whether as communities, civil society, government, faith leaders, business, unions or citizens, we must all play our part. The safety and security of women and children is everybody’s business.”
While the life sentence in Madadeni represents a measure of justice, it cannot return a mother to her children or repair the trauma inflicted on another South African family.
And as long as KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces continue to record some of the country’s highest murder and sexual-offence rates, the national disaster declaration must translate into tangible, accelerated action rather than symbolic, empathetic commitment.
Until systemic change dismantles the social, economic and cultural conditions that enable intimate-partner femicide, South African courts will continue issuing life sentences — while the next preventable tragedy looms, too often, just hours or days away.
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Be sure to read, South Africa’s Youth: What The Numbers Really Reveal About a Generation, if you missed it.
