The Polokwane High Court has sentenced a 56-year-old Limpopo man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, a former nurse at Lebowakgomo Hospital.
Molabe Fannie Seribishane, from Ngwaname Newstand in Mafefe, was convicted of murdering Mumsy Seribishane after fatally shooting her at her workplace on October 22, 2024.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Mashudu Malabi said evidence presented in court showed that Seribishane had previously threatened his wife and violated a protection order granted in 2023.
Malabi said that on the day of the murder, Seribishane arrived at Lebowakgomo Hospital armed with a semi-automatic firearm and shot his wife before fleeing the scene in a white Volkswagen Golf 7.
He was arrested on November 13, 2024, and police found him in possession of a firearm that had been reported stolen in Seshego earlier that year. A ballistic test linked the weapon to the murder.
The court also heard that Seribishane had repeatedly threatened to burn down the family home.
During sentencing proceedings, Senior State Advocate David Sebelebele argued that Seribishane acted with a sense of impunity and was angered by his wife’s attempts to resolve their marital disputes through legal channels. He submitted that the murder was premeditated and that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances warranting a lesser sentence than life imprisonment.
Judge Karin Leanee Pillay agreed with the State’s arguments, describing the prosecution’s case as “watertight”. She noted that the accused had shown no remorse and continued to blame others for the killing, despite a protection order having been issued against him before the offence.
“The accused never showed remorse and continued to blame other people for the murder of his wife. He planned the murder and executed it,” Pillay said.
In addition to life imprisonment for murder, Malabi said Seribishane was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for contravening the Domestic Violence Act, 15 years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm, and six years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of ammunition. The court ordered that the additional sentences run concurrently with the life sentence.
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.