Local radio DJ Donald Sebolai was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of Wits secretary Rachel “Dolly” Tshabalala in June 2014.
Donald Sebolai was sentenced to 20-years in prison after he was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, Wits secretary, Rachel “Dolly” Tshabalala.
Sebolai’s sentence was handed down to him at the High Court in Pretoria on Friday by Judge Cassim Moosa.
Moosa told the court that Sebolai is a violent and abusive man who deserves the harsh sentence. He also added that he hopes the sentence is appropriate and that he hopes this will deter other offenders from gender-based violence according to EyeWitnessNews (EWN).
After the sentence was handed down, family and friends of Tshabalala began celebrating shouting “hashtag Donald Duck has fallen”, according to EWN.
Acting Cabinet spokesperson‚ Phumla Williams welcomed the sentence and told TimesLIVE that government is pleased that the sentence matches the seriousness of the crime.
Tshabalala who worked in the Wits School of Civil Engineering, was found dead in Sebolai’s flat in Soweto in June 2014.
Sebolai was found guilty of the murder of Tshabalala and defeating the ends of justice in October last year.
This comes after he went on the run for over a week after the crime and the court found that he had cleaned the blood-stained floor and removed the murder weapon.
Tshabalala was stabbed multiple times in the pelvic area, severing an artery which caused her to bleed to death on Sebolai’s bed according to News24.
The former Jozi FM DJ, however, maintains his innocent and insists that Tshabalala stabbed herself whilst they were wrestling over the knife according to EWN
Sebolai said he would like an opportunity to speak to Tshabalala’s family and will apply for leave to appeal both judgment and sentence.
