- Ayanda "Mpiriri" Matika has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for murdering East London woman Busisiwe Ngwadla in 2019.
- Ngwadla's family are devastated at what they have described as a "lenient sentence".
- Matika stabbed Ngwadla 12 times during an argument over her alleged infidelity.
The family of an East London woman who was stabbed to death by her boyfriend has vowed to appeal the "lenient" 20-year jail term he was sentenced to.
On Thursday, East London High Court Judge John Smith sentenced Ayanda Matika to 20 years imprisonment for the murder of Busisiwe Ngwadla, 37. Smith had convicted Matika on Wednesday.
Matika murdered Ngwadla at her home at Emerald Sky flats in Amalinda, East London on 26 February 2019.
The two, who were in a romantic relationship, had an argument about Ngwadla's alleged infidelity.
Outside the court, Ngwadla's bother Thabo Ngwadla and mother Nobubele Mbolekwa told News24 they would appeal the sentence.
Thabo said Matika deserved a double life sentence.
"We feel like this is a lenient sentence. We are not going to find peace with this 20-year sentencing. We want a harsher sentence. As a family we have decided we will appeal the 20 years.
"This guy has not even showed any remorse. He deserves double life in prison with no option of parole," said Ngwadla.
Ngwadla added:
Ngwadla's mother was in tears outside the court.
She said:
Ngwadla's naked body was found in a pool of blood by police the same day.
Neighbours had called security guards and alerted them about hysterical screams which came from Ngwadla's flat.
The court was told that the screams lasted for five minutes before Ngwadla went silent.
When neighbours went to knock on the door, a calm Matika emerged and told them everything was fine.
The neighbours then left.
Matika closed the door, changed clothes, went to the airport to buy a ticket to Cape Town and fled to his home in Gugulethu.
The neighbours, however, were suspicious and notified security at the apartment block.
Her body was then found.
The forensic report revealed that she was stabbed a dozen times and had tried to escape from the flat as there was blood on the walls and doors.
After Matika murdered Ngwadla, he sent a voice note to a friend confessing to murdering her because of her alleged infidelity.
The voice note circulated widely on social media. He was arrested three weeks later in Cape Town.
In his defence, Matika stated that he acted on "sane automatism" when he murdered Ngwadla.
The NPA explained: "This means that he was in such a feat of anger that he lost control and acted automatically without any deliberate conscious intention of stabbing her. In other words he blacked out and realised afterwards what he had done. His claims were, however refuted in court."
The acting Director of Public Prosecutions, Livingstone Sakata, said: "The NPA appreciates the integrated efforts by all stakeholders in the JCPS cluster to address GBVF related crimes seriously. The investigation and prosecution teams are highly commended for their dedication."
Senior state advocate Henke Ackermann prosecuted the case.