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Mbombela — An amputee convicted of killing his wife admitted to the crime in the Nelspruit Circuit of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Wednesday.
Godfrey Sefwayi Sengwane, 62, who has a prosthetic leg after a work accident in 1982, was found guilty of killing Zodwa Mdlalane Sengwane, 58, in March last year, a Sapa correspondent reported.
He was found guilty of the crime, of intimidating his daughter Cynthia Sonto Sengwane, and of possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition.
Sengwane initially pleaded not guilty to the charges but admitted to killing his wife after Judge Ebenhaezer Jordaan found him guilty on Wednesday.
He had threatened to shoot a neighbour’s son, Siboniso Ngomane. “I am the one who has done this. I was afraid to say it before and I do apologise to the court for not telling the truth,” he said during arguments in mitigation of sentencing.
He said his wife insulted him and threatened to leave him. “She said I made the young man go away and she did not want me anymore . . . When she continued insulting me, I fetched [the pistol] and started shooting at her . . . I never fired at the other people but walked home.”
He said he tried to apply for a firearm licence before buying the gun, but was refused because he failed to disclose his previous convictions. “I am very sorry to my wife’s family and I apologise for what happened. I was not thinking about jealousy. My wife was my property. I was intending to shoot the young man.” Jordaan postponed the matter yesterday for sentencing. — Sapa
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