The neighbour of a 62-year-old woman was handed two life sentences on Tuesday for raping and murdering her in Inchanga in KwaZulu-Natal in 2019.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said Thandi Magwaza left her home in Inchanga on 14 December 2019 at 11:00 and did not return. Her family reported her missing at the Inchanga police station and a search was conducted.
On 16 December 2019, members of the community and the police found her lifeless body in bushes. Her body had no visible injuries.
A post-mortem was conducted and revealed that she had been raped and strangled.
The investigation led the investigating officer to Magwaza's neighbour, Nkosiyezwe David Gwala, 43, who was arrested on 22 December 2019. He made several court appearances and bail was denied. He was kept behind bars until his sentencing.
The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Pietermaritzburg sentenced Gwala to two terms of life imprisonment for murder and rape.
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