To the outside world, he was seen as a God-fearing man who attended church on Sundays. He was a preacher at an Apostolic church, but at home he abused his wife and strangled her to death.
He then buried her body in a shallow grave along a riverbank.
The reason for the murder was that he no longer wanted to be married to her. But, he was not prepared to share their joint estate – the RDP house in which they were living – with her following a divorce.
Judge Daniel Thulare’s judgement not only ensured accused Babsy Ntamehlo will serve a life imprisonment term, he also declared that the patrimonial benefit – the house – will be forfeited by him in favour of the child.
The judge also ordered that the mayor of the City of Cape Town shall, without undue delay, ensure the establishment of a trust for the benefit of the child and assist in upholding his rights regarding the ownership of the property.
The premier of the Eastern Cape was further ordered to trace the remains of the deceased, buried within the boundaries of this province, and ensure that the child and family visit the grave as part of their emotional and psycho-social therapy.
Ntamehlo physically abused his wife to the extent the deceased applied for two protection orders.
He also moved out of their marital home to stay with a girlfriend at an informal settlement but visited his marital home and continued with the abuse of the deceased, at times in front of their son.
Her charred body was discovered in a shallow grave after residents followed the tracks of a wheelie bin which was heard and seen to be pushed by the accused in the early hours of October 7, 2020.
Judge Thulare, in the opening to his judgment, referred to the song Senzeni na?
“These are lyrics of a song from the days of the Struggle against colonialism and later apartheid in South Africa. It is a question which the black majority asked, singing, to both their oppressors and their God.”
The judge explained that, loosely interpreted, it was both a prayer and a plea for an explanation for what was done to them.
“In recent times, it has been adopted by women in their struggle against gender-based violence. It is in response to the observation that the body of a woman has physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually been turned into a potential scene of crime,” the judge explained.
The accused wanted the deceased to leave the RDP house, but she saw herself as a joint owner who contributed to their joint property. She was not prepared to walk away with nothing from the estate that she had helped to build.
The accused strangled his wife to death on a Sunday evening. The judge said it was done in such a way that she screamed only once and because of the trauma was unable to scream further.
He then buried her body along a riverbank in a 30cm-deep grave after first setting the body alight.
A family member testified that he had been abusive towards all women with whom he was in a romantic relationship.
The couple’s son wrote a letter to the judge in which he said he had trusted his father. “I was very confused when I heard about this death because when I last saw her she was very happy and when I left her I thought we would chat later,” he said.
The child, who was in Grade 8 at the time, said he was shattered. “My heart was broken into pieces and I was very cross with my father because he made me believe that other men are trash and they do not care about others. Every day I always wake up thinking about my mother. She was the one who used to wake me up every morning when I’m off to school.”
He said his mother was caring and liked to smile a lot when they chatted.
Judge Thulare said one of the most popular protest songs was Siyaya e Pitoli. “This not only referred to the march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria which was the seat of the executive arm of government, but was also a commitment to one day occupy that seat.
“While those who sang the song now occupy the seat, some of the reasons that inform the marches still remain a stubborn monument of our history. The indignity of women occasioned by toxic masculinity and patriarchy is one of them.”
The judge concluded: “Can women afford to change the lyrics, and sing in the same tune and proclaim?”
Pretoria News