Renowned Cape Town artist Zwelethu Mthethwa has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for the murder of 23-year-old sex worker Nokuphila Kumalo.
The Western Cape High Court handed down the sentence on Wednesday.
Mthethwa was found guilty of murder in March this year after evidence gathered showed him assaulting Kumalo.
Judge Patricia Goliath accepted crucial CCTV footage that captured Mthethwa kicking and beating Kumalo in the early hours of April 14 2013 in Ravenscraig Road, Woodstock.
“The killing of women will not be tolerated. The killing of sex workers in particular will not be tolerated,” Judge Golaith said.
Judge Goliath chose to deviate from the minimum sentence of 15 years to sentence Zwelethu Mthethwa to 18 years... https://t.co/H2Lg7JbVWr
— Sweat (@SweatTweets) June 7, 2017
Members of the Sex Workers Education & Advocacy Taskforce (Sweat) and Sisonke National Movement of Sex Workers in South Africa welcomed the sentencing handed to Mthethwa, saying it “acknowledges that a human being died that night never mind what profession she chose to be in”.
Waiting for a harsher sentence 4 #ZwelethuMthethwa @EFFSouthAfrica @SisonkeSA @WLCCapeTown @Asijiki4decrim @SonkeTogether #SayHerName pic.twitter.com/dZnPmxNxDt
— Sweat (@SweatTweets) May 24, 2017
Holding a vigil at the Cape High Court while Judge Goliath reads the judgement for #Justice4Nokuphila #SayHerName pic.twitter.com/D86TCmGoqT
— Sweat (@SweatTweets) March 16, 2017
“While we celebrate that today saw the rare success of the criminal justice system and conviction of the perpetrator, there are still an inordinate amount of cases that will never see the inside of the court,” said Ishtar Lakhani, advocacy and human rights defence manager at Sweat.
“We are all aware of how the criminal justice fails women on a daily basis and that justice can no longer be found at our courts.
“However, we are mindful that the conviction and sentencing of Mthethwa is a victory for Nokuphila’s family and friends and we hope that this marks a shift in our courts taking the lives of sex workers more seriously” Lakhani added.