Overview

• The Johannesburg High Court delivered the sentence on September 19, 2025, following a July guilty verdict for the May 30, 2024 stabbing at the couple’s Fourways home in front of Zitha’s 10-year-old daughter.
• Zitha confessed, surrendered to police, and told the court he was remorseful, describing personal crises and substance abuse during mitigation.
• Prosecutors sought life imprisonment while the defence argued for 10–15 years, and the court set the term at 15 years.
• The sentencing order declares Zitha unfit to possess firearms under section 103 and authorizes searches of his premises for weapons and ammunition.
• Letlape’s family called the punishment a “slap on the wrist,” intensifying public debate on gender-based violence and the harms to children who witness domestic killings.