The High Court of South Africa sitting in Mbombela has today sentenced Clara Masinga (37), a Mozambican national, to 23 years’ direct imprisonment for the brutal murder of her stepdaughter, Jennifer Gumbi (11). Masinga pleaded guilty to premeditated murder and was convicted accordingly.
Masinga was in a relationship with the deceased’s father, Rodgers Gumbi, and resided with him at KaMhlushwa, Phosaville Section, in the district of Malelane.
On 21st of March 2015, Masinga sent the deceased’s friend to fetch her from home while she waited at a distance. When the girls returned, Masinga asked Jennifer to accompany her to her house, claiming that an acquaintance wished to buy her clothes. Upon arrival, Masinga called her accomplice, who remained with the child while she went to a nearby tuck shop to buy ice cream and rat poison (Rattex).
Masinga and her accomplice then crushed the poison and mixed it with the ice cream before giving it to the child. Jennifer later died after consuming the poisoned ice cream, and her lifeless body was found dumped in a shallow ditch near the Mlumati River. A thoroughly police investigation led to Masinga’s arrest.
In court, Masinga admitted that her conduct was unlawful and punishable by law. She entered into a Section 105A plea and sentence agreement with the State, which was accepted. In her plea statement, she revealed that her motive for killing the child was to spite the victim’s biological mother.
During sentencing proceedings, State Advocate Senzo Zindela argued that the accused killed an innocent child under the influence of another person and further desecrated the body by pouring boiled water on it to ensure the plan succeeded. He urged the court to impose a sentence that reflects the gravity of the crime.
In delivering the sentence, Judge Vukeya condemned the increasing incidents of domestic violence and the killing of women and children in South Africa. The Judge noted that the accused killed an innocent child out of animosity toward the mother and that no sentence could ever restore the lost life. However, the court found that compelling circumstances existed to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence and accordingly imposed 23 years’ direct imprisonment. The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
