Africa-Press – South-Africa. The ex-husband of Lesedi FM current affairs presenter Dimakatso Ratselane was sentenced to an effective nine years in jail for stabbing her multiple times.
Mackenzie Ratselane, 41, was sentenced in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
He was convicted of attempted murder, possessing an unlicenced firearm and illegally possessing ammunition.
Free State police spokesperson Sergeant Mahlomola Kareli said Ratselane attempted to kill Dimakatso on 11 February 2021 in Mangaung, Bloemfontein, following a domestic dispute.
Dimakatso sustained more than 15 stab wounds to various parts of her body.
He was arrested six days later in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg, after being on the run from the police.
“Ratselane was sentenced to nine years for attempted murder, of which two years were suspended, three years for possessing an unlicenced firearm, and two years for possessing ammunition. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the nine year-imprisonment,” said Kareli.
Dimakatso’s attack sparked an outcry at the time, with the Commission for Gender Equality saying: “The commission’s court monitoring processes of various gender-based violence (GBV) and intimate partner violence cases convinced us that a speedy conclusion of cases of GBV can be realised.
“For this reason, we hope that the same occurs in the Ratselane case.
“We encourage the public and her family to stay put and allow the law to take its course. The commission condemns any GBV committed, regardless of the gender of the person who commits it.
“We hope that people will start learning alternative ways of resolving conflicts as an ethos, without resorting to violence.”
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