Mpumalanga man sentenced to 20 years for murder of sex worker

A 33-year-old Mpumalanga man has been handed a 20-year prison sentence for the murder of a sex worker.

Jacques Jacobus Alwyn Botha was sentenced in the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court sitting in Breyton, this week.

He is accused of murdering Zodwa Angelina Sibiya on a farm in Vogelspruitspoort near Belfast, on October 18, 2024.

Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane, said Botha had picked up Sibiya from a street in Belfast and took her to his home.

"They started consuming alcohol and then became intimate. After, they continued to consume alcohol and Sibiya started making a noise which irritated Botha," he said.

In court, Botha stated that he tried several times to stop her but Sibiya continued and he strangled, first using his hands and then her underwear, until she passed out.

"Realising that she was dead, he wrapped her body in a carpet and dumped her inside a hole which he then concealed with stones," police said.

After a while, Botha handed himself over to police.

Sibiya's body was retrieved from the hole and she was identified as being from Emthonjeni.

On the count of murder, Botha was sentenced to 18 years and on the count of defeating the ends of justice, he was handed a seven year sentence.

Ndubane explained that the court ordered that the five years imprisonment on count two, will run concurrently with the sentencing on count one.

"The accused person will spend effective 20 years behind bars. The accused was further declared unfit to carry a firearm," he added.

seanne.rall@iol.co.za

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