She endured years of abuse, public humiliation and lies, and when she finally left, he plotted to end her life.
|||Durban - She endured years of abuse, public humiliation and repeated lies, and when she had finally decided she had had enough, he plotted to end her life.
This was the testimony of Zinhle Rosemary Ngcobo, who was viciously stabbed by her boyfriend in a mall.
The incident was captured on camera and the footage was used to convict him.
Skhumbuzo Shange, 30, was sentenced on Wendesday to eight years in prison of which three years were suspended on condition that he was not convicted of any offence of which assault with grievous bodily harm was an element.
Before Shange’s sentencing, Ngcobo, 28, was called by magistrate Trevor Levitt to give evidence in aggravation of sentence.
Shange was convicted of attempted murder after he pleaded guilty in the Durban Regional Court last week.
Shange had told the court that after his arrest he had apologised to Ngcobo and she had forgiven him.
On Wednesday, Ngcobo denied that she had forgiven him.
She said she had decided to end their relationship once and for all because the years of abuse had taken their toll.
“He would always apologise and say he would never do it again, but he always did it again,” Ngcobo said and started to sob.
Shange was arrested on January 23, just moments after he attacked Ngcobo, his girlfriend of 12 years and the mother of his daughter, stabbing her eight times at the Galleria shopping centre in eManzimtoti.
The court had heard that Shange had a propensity for violence and that he was arrested on allegations of abuse in 2010, but the matter never proceeded because Ngcobo withdrew the charges.
He also stabbed her in 2009, she told the court on Wednesday.
In 2011, a protection order was granted and charges were laid against him after he threatened her with a knife and pulled her out of a taxi.
The matter went to court, but Ngcobo said she had lied under oath, denying that Ngcobo had a knife, to protect him.
“I was instructed that if he came close to me, I should go to the police station, but because I loved him, I never did that,” she said.
“He promised me he would never possess a weapon again. For that reason, I don’t believe he will change. I don’t wish him to come anywhere near me.”
Ngcobo told the court that when Shange approached her at the clothing shop in the mall where she worked on the day of the incident, he wanted to reconcile.
“I told him never, not unless we’re meant for each other and he said the best thing to do was to kill me.
“He stood in front of me, blocking my way, and I saw the knife in his pocket. I shouted for security when he pulled out the knife.”
Ngcobo said she screamed for help but he stabbed her eight times. She spent five days in Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital.
Last week, Shange testified that he was angry that Ngcobo wanted to end their relationship and conceded that he had set out to kill her.
He had said he had bought the knife on his way to the mall, for his personal protection against Ngcobo’s new boyfriend, a policeman who had allegedly threatened to kill him.
Prosecutor Krishen Shah argued in closing that Shange was not a model boyfriend.
“The Domestic Violence Act was enacted because women are trapped in a cycle of abuse,” he said.
“When she broke the shackles of her relationship he tried to kill her. He used his charms to get her to drop the charges. She continuously relented to the accused until she reached breaking point and he punished her.”
Levitt said Shange had been “relentless” in his attack and clearly wanted to end Ngcobo’s life. “This form of domestic violence is becoming far too common and the court must send out a message that such behaviour will not be tolerated.”
Outside the court, Ngcobo said she was satisfied with the sentence.
“I am happy as long as he learns his lesson. I am scared of what he would do when he gets out, though.”
rizwana.umar@inl.co.za
Daily News