The mother of the slain woman whose body was found with gashing wounds in a pool of blood after being killed at Tshivhilwi by her husband three years ago has accepted the 15-year sentence meted out to her killer.

Ms Dorah Mukhuba, mother of the deceased, Humbulani Munyai, cut a forlorn figure at Court C of the Thohoyandou High Court on Wednesday during the sentencing of her killer, Mozambican Mike Chauke.

“After the death of my daughter, I could not sleep, thinking that the killer might be granted bail and come back to finish us off. Now that he has been sentenced, the pain that I have, has been lessened. I just hope we can now continue with our lives and close the chapter. We know, however, that we will not be able to forget about the incident,” she said.

Mukhuba said the death had brought a lot of pain to the family and more especially to the deceased´s five children, who were left with no one to take care of them. “We have, over the years, become accustomed that she will not come back and we have to live with that for the rest of our lives. We are happy he will be away for a long time, but we would have been much happier if he were sent to jail for life,” she said.

Chauke´s trial started in November 2010 and ended this week when he was convicted.

In mitigation of sentence, Chauke´s attorney, Avhasei Thomu, pleaded with the court to impose a sentence shorter than the minimum 15 years that is prescribed for the crime. “We understand that 15 years are the minimum sentence, but given the circumstances around this case, we plead for a lesser sentence, “ said Thomu. This was flatly rejected by the presiding judge, Judge Booi.

In sentencing Chauke, the judge said the court had, after all considerations, come to the conclusion that 15 years was the most appropriate sentence. He said the court had considered the seriousness of the case, the interest of the community, the personal circumstances of Chauke, the circumstances surrounding the murder and an element of mercy.

He said murder was very serious and the fact that the murder had been committed with a blunt instrument which led to a life being lost influenced the sentence. He added that Chauke was very close to the deceased as they lived as husband and wife, but he decided to kill her. He said the sentence was also influenced by Chauke´s refusal to admit guilt, until the conviction. “From the onset, the accused denied any involvement in the murder; however, after the conviction, his lawyer submitted that he had come to his senses and was admitting guilt and was also very remorseful. The judge sentenced him to 15 years and he was also declared unfit to posses a firearm.

Chauke was arrested in August 2008 after being identified by an observant member of the police at Malamulele police station, where he was waiting to be deported back to his hometown. His photo had been posted at many places after the murder of Ms Humbulani Munyai.

Jugde Booi presided over the case, Adv Suzan Mahada prosecuted and Avhasei Thomu appeared for the defence.