A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his girlfriend in Bushbuckridge.

Mikah Shalamuka Willy Sithole, who was in a domestic relationship with Nicolene Morgan, was found guilty by the High Court of South Africa, Mpumalanga Division, following a harrowing sequence of events in December 2024.

On 21 December 2024, Morgan and her sister attended a party at Cork Trust. Sithole, discovering they had been drinking, demanded Morgan accompany him home. When she refused, an altercation erupted, and he forcibly dragged her away, assaulting her along the way before heading to his own residence.

Tragically, the following day Sithole drowned Morgan in a nearby dam. After realising she was still alive, he asked his brother-in-law to fetch help—but while he was away, Sithole strangled her to death and fled the scene. Police investigations led to his arrest days later.

Despite pleading not guilty, Sithole was convicted on strong circumstantial evidence, including testimony from witnesses and a postmortem confirming asphyxia caused by external pressure to the neck. The court heard victim impact statements detailing the ongoing trauma endured by Morgan’s family.

In handing down the sentence, the court cited the prevalence of domestic violence and femicide in South Africa, noting Sithole showed no remorse. The sentence of life imprisonment reflects the court’s stance that there were no compelling circumstances to mitigate the punishment.

Morgan’s family has described the sentencing as a small measure of justice for the devastating loss they have suffered.