A KwaZulu-Natal man who pleaded guilty to stabbing his girlfriend to death after a nine-year courtship has been jailed to an effective 12 years behind bars .
Sanele Lex Khwela, 26, entered into a plea and sentence agreement in the Pietermaritzburg High Court before acting Judge Nomfundo Sipunzi.
Khwela admitted to stabbing his girlfriend Nokulunga Mbanjwa on February 3, 2024, which resulted in a penetrating stab wound to the heart.
In his plea handed to the court by Legal Aid attorney Amanda Hulley, Khwela said they had spent the evening of February 2 at a friends home in Donnybrook, consuming alcohol.
He said they consumed beer and Belgravia gin and left their friends home on foot in the early hours of the next morning. They were both intoxicated.
Khwela said they had an argument and Mbanjwa kept reminding him of the times he cheated on her and then began swearing at him.
He said he got angry, pulled out his Okapi knife and stabbed her in the chest more than once in a fit of anger.
Khwela said when she fell down, he realised she was badly hurt and got scared and went home.
He said while at his neighbours house where he went to get a cigarette he was arrested by police.
Khwela said he admitted to killing Mbanjwa immediately.
The factors considered in reaching the sentencing agreement included the potential length and expense of a trial and the remorse of the accused.
The State was represented by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in KZN, Mbongeni Mthembu.
