Young Woman, 23, Receives 39-Year Sentence For Murdering Boyfriend And Faking Suicide

A 23-year-old woman, Bongiwe Praise Magwaza, has been sentenced to 39 years in prison for the murder of her boyfriend, police sergeant Kgopotso Ntsana, 36, in South Africa……….CONTINUE READING

The Johannesburg High Court delivered the sentence on Wednesday, August 14, 2024. The breakdown of her sentences is as follows:

• Count 1: Murder – 20 years
• Count 2: Unlawful Possession of a Firearm – 7 years
• Count 3: Unlawful Possession of Ammunition – 5 years
• Count 4: Defeating the Ends of Justice – 7 years

Additionally, Magwaza has been declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Sergeant Ntsana, who was stationed at Elsburg police station in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, was fatally shot by Magwaza, his girlfriend, during a violent altercation. Following an intensive investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime unit, Magwaza was found guilty on all four counts. She was convicted on July 1, 2024.

The investigation revealed the tragic events of that night. According to Warrant Officer Thatohatsi Mavimbela, spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation in Gauteng, the incident occurred on Friday, December 2, 2022, at around 10:30 PM at the couple’s shared residence in Leomakalapa, near Windmill Park Estate in Boksburg.

“The couple had an argument that escalated into a physical altercation, during which Magwaza repeatedly stabbed Sergeant Ntsana with a pair of scissors. She then took his service firearm and shot him in the head at close range,” Mavimbela stated.

In an attempt to cover up the crime, Magwaza placed the firearm next to Ntsana’s body to stage the scene as a suicide. She left the residence and spent the night at another boyfriend’s home in Germiston. The following day, she returned to the house and told neighbors that Ntsana had apparently taken his own life, prompting them to alert the authorities.

Initially, an inquest docket was registered at Dawn Park police station while preliminary investigations were conducted. Blood spatter experts and crime scene photographers were called to examine the scene, and crime scene reconstruction experts visited the site on December 5, 2022.

Magwaza had been detained at Boksburg police cells on charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) but denied killing Ntsana despite admitting to stabbing him. Due to insufficient evidence, the case was not placed on the court roll on December 6, 2022.

However, Captain Sizwe Sibeko from the Hawks’ National Priority Violent Crimes (NPVC) division intervened. He re-arrested Magwaza following a forensic report that ruled out suicide as the cause of death, citing inconsistencies uncovered during the crime scene reconstruction.

Magwaza was then charged with murder and first appeared before the Boksburg Magistrates on December 7, 2022. She was eventually granted R1,000 bail in January 2023 after several court appearances.

Her bail was revoked on November 22, 2023, after she began exhibiting erratic behavior, leading to a mental evaluation at Sterkfontein. The facility determined that she was fit to stand trial, and she has remained in custody since then. Her sentencing proceedings commenced on August 12, 2024, culminating in her 39-year sentence.

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