KIMBERLEY. – Andile Ngonyoko Mesark (30) from Jan Kempdorp was sentenced on Thursday 3 September to 10 years imprisonment on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after he attacked his girlfriend with a panga.
According to Lt.Col. Thabo Litabe, spokesperson for the South African Police Service, the accused attacked his girlfriend with a panga on 25 July 2024 at approximately 23:00 in the Valspan residential area of Jan Kempdorp.
According to a statement from the SAPD, the victim said that she and Mesark were at his house when he received a call and went outside to answer it. An argument followed. Mesark threw his cellphone at her and then pulled out a panga.
He struck her with the panga in the face and abdomen. He then dragged her off the property and assaulted her further there.
The victim reported the case at the Jan Kempdorp police station. Detective Andrew Ntlati was assigned to investigate the case.
Mesark was arrested on 3 September 2024. He did not apply for bail and remained in custody.
While this case was still pending, Mesark was also convicted of armed robbery. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for this.
The court ordered that two years of that sentence be served concurrently with the seven years for armed robbery. Mesark will therefore serve a total of eight years for the assault case. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The district commissioner of Frances Baard, Maj.Gen. Gabathata Makgari, welcomed the sentence and commended Detective Ntlati for his thorough investigation.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
