The Mitchells Plain Magistrates Court has finally convicted and sentenced the man behind the murder of 34-year-old, Cleo Diko.

Sandile Jegwa was on Wednesday sentenced to 20 years behind bars for premeditated murder. This, after he confessed earlier this year to killing Diko in a fit of rage. Civil right’s organisation, Action Society, says the family of slain Diko have waited for the more than a year for justice.

“For 425 days, Cleo’s family and friends had to face this murderer time and time again, only to be met with multiple postponements and left the courtroom with more questions than answers.” – Kaylynn Palm, Action Society Western Cape.

In January last year, Diko’s decomposed body was found at a home Mandalay. According to a statement by Action Society, she was found with a rope around her neck and covered in cement under a bed. She had been missing since October the year before.

“We would have preferred a life sentence, but it is good to know that he will be removed from society for 20 years. Jegwa is a murderer with a history of violence. He was a menace to everyone around him, and even his family was afraid of his violent behaviour. He deserves to rot in jail for the rest of his life.”

Palms notes that while today was a victory in the fight for victims of violence and murder, there are still many cases where similar justice is needed.

Other cases of gender-based violence & femicide

Action Society says this past month saw the organisation oversee several cases in the Western Cape.

These include that of Nadine Klaase, who was strangled to death in her Vredendal home in October last year. The case of Carmen Gouws from Lutzville was also heard this month – she was killed by an “axe wielding abuser” last year. And it’s been about a year since the murder of Thimna Kuze, whose bloodied body was found in a shack in Khayelitsha. All of these cases return to court in April.

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