An Eastern Cape father who bludgeoned his three-year-old daughter to death after breaking up with her mother has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Siviwe Mhlonishwa, 51, from eThaleni in Ugie, was convicted of the murder of Avuma Tabata in February.
He was sentenced in the Bhisho high court on Thursday by judge Justin Laing.
On November 5 2024, Mhlonishwa and the child’s mother, NombusoTabata, met in town and he confronted her about a new relationship she was in and then requested that Tabata allow him to take the child home with him.
On arrival, the child asked for food and Mhlonishwa ignored her. She persisted and Mhlonishwa kicked her and started to assault her with a wooden stick.
A family member intervened and Mhlonishwa drew a knife and grabbed the little girl.
The relative managed to disarm him, but was forced out of the house. Mhlonishwa locked the door and kept beating the child until she died.
He denied killing his daughter, something clinical psychologist Karen Andrews flagged in her psychological assessment report ahead of sentencing, as a psychological defence.
Meanwhile, Tabata. according to a victim impact report by social worker Nomonde Stamper, wished that her daughter had rather died due to illness than at the hands of her father.
Sentencing Mhlonishwa on Thursday, Laing said he was satisfied that Mhlonishwa did not lack the necessary criminal responsibility at the time of the incident.
“Counsel for the accused [advocate Deon Geldenhuys] contended that the accused’s age, the fact that he was a first offender, and that he acted out of character had to be considered.
“So, too, was it was necessary to consider his use of alcohol.
“In this regard, counsel argued that the evidence of Ms Andrews had been that even a limited amount of alcohol would have been all that was required to have triggered the accused’s rage.
“Cumulatively, these amounted to substantial and compelling circumstances that warranted a sentence other than life imprisonment,” he said.
“Counsel for the state [advocate Sibusiso Mgenge] focused on the vulnerability of the deceased and the severe violence that accompanied the accused’s attack on her.
“The accused resisted, at the time, [the relative’s] attempts to restrain him and forced [him] outside at knifepoint before resuming his attack on the deceased.
“Domestic violence, said counsel, was rampant. Decisive intervention was required from the courts.
“The accused showed no remorse whatsoever. A sentence of life imprisonment was entirely appropriate.
“It is the absence, however, of anything remarkable in relation to the accused’s personal circumstances that ultimately tips the scales against him.
“None of the factors mentioned by counsel is, either on its own or viewed cumulatively, sufficient to persuade the court that substantial and compelling circumstances exist to justify a departure from the prescribed sentence [of life],” Laing said.
Laing said much was said about Mhlonishwa’s use of alcohol. However, evidence regarding the extent to which he consumed alcohol on the day in question was inconclusive.
He said it was reasonably possible that as suggested by Andrews alcohol intake on the day disinhibited Mhlonishwa, causing him to “unleash an attack on the deceased as an expression of anger towards Ms Tabata regarding unresolved issues that had arisen during and immediately after their relationship”.
“Weighed against the unremarkable personal circumstances of the accused is the utterly abhorrent nature of the offence itself, as well as the community’s sense of complete outrage ...
“The medical practitioner who performed the postmortem examination … described the injuries inflicted upon the deceased as being akin to those seen in motor vehicle accidents or mob justice attacks, her skull had been fractured, causing severe injury to the brain.
“This was, lest it be forgotten, a three-year-old.
“On its own, the extreme severity of the attack that led to the death of the deceased is deeply troubling.
“The fact that the deceased was the accused’s daughter simply defies understanding. The horror of it all will, in due course, find the accused, which is punishment enough.”
Daily Dispatch
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