Man sentenced to 25 years for setting girlfriend alight in the Eastern Cape

Eastern Cape police have welcomed a 25-year jail term handed to a man who poured petrol on his girlfriend and then set her alight. 

The 22-year-old survived the attack with severe burn wounds. 

This week, her 31-year-old boyfriend, Motlatsi Mpharu, was sentenced in the Sterkspruit Regional Court for attempted murder. 

The incident took place on January 5, 2025. 

According to police, Mpho Kutoana had been visiting her boyfriend at his home when an argument broke out.

“The suspect accused her of being unfaithful, and in a fit of rage, tied her with an electric cable, stabbed her in the left thigh, poured petrol over her, and set her alight,” said Eastern Cape police spokesperson Captain Ursula Roelofse

“In the process, the suspect also caught fire and had to extinguish the flames.

“The victim sustained severe burn wounds and was admitted to Mpilisweni Hospital for two months.”

Major General Lindelwa Vellem, the Joe Gqabi District SAPS Commissioner, welcomed the conviction, heaping praise on the police investigations and the NPA. 

IOL News