A 39-year-old woman from the quiet village of Nondindwa in the Eastern Cape has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after an emotional and violent outburst led to the deaths of her boyfriend and distant aunt. The tragedy unfolded after she found the two in bed together.
Noncedo Mqokro had attended a traditional ceremony and, after drinking, decided to visit her boyfriend in the nearby village of Khabakazi—a surprise visit she had made many times before. But this time, when she arrived, he refused to let her in. Suspicious, she looked through a window and was devastated to see him being intimate with a woman she knew well—her maternal aunt.
Overwhelmed by shock and rage, Mqokro forced her way inside. She headed straight to a spot where her boyfriend usually hid a dagger and used it to stab both him and her aunt. According to her statement, she stopped when they apologized, claiming she believed they were still alive when she left.
In a gesture that revealed deep remorse, she immediately told her boyfriend’s mother what had happened and turned herself in to police at the scene. Despite efforts to save them, both victims died the next day.
The Mthatha High Court found her guilty of two counts of murder and one of housebreaking with intent to commit a crime. Though sentenced to 15 years for each murder.