A Mozambican woman was sentenced for killing her stepdaughter with poisoned ice cream to spite her mother. Image: Supplied.
(The Post News)- Clara Masinga, a citizen of Mozambique, was given a 23-year prison sentence for the deliberate killing of her 11-year-old stepdaughter, Jennifer Gumbi, a decade ago.
The 37-year-old was sentenced on Wednesday by the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela after she pleaded guilty to the gruesome murder. The court heard that her motive for killing the child was to “spite the victim’s biological mother.”
Masinga, who resided with Jennifer’s father, Rodgers Gumbi, in KwaMhlushwa, Malelane district, and was in a relationship with him, went into a plea and sentence deal with the state, which the court accepted, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Masinga’s Murder Plot
The intentional killing happened on March 21, 2015. Monica Nyuswa, a spokesman for NPA Mpumalanga, claims that Masinga initially persuaded the young girl to leave her house.
“Masinga sent [Jennifer’s] friend to fetch her from home while she waited at a distance,” Nyuswa explained. “When the girls returned, Masinga asked Jennifer to accompany her to her house, claiming an acquaintance wanted to buy her clothes.”
After arriving at the residence, she called on an accomplice to watch the child while she went to buy ice cream and Rattex (rat poison) at a neighbouring tuck shop.
After crushing the poison, the accused and her accomplice combined it with the ice cream and served it to Jennifer. Shortly after eating the poisoned dessert, the child passed away.
Body Dumped, Motive Revealed
Jennifer’s body was discovered in a shallow ditch close to the Mlumati River after the murder. Masinga was eventually taken into custody following a police investigation.
Masinga acknowledged in court that her actions were illegal and maintained the same motivation she had stated in her plea: to cause grief to Jennifer’s biological mother.
State Advocate Senzo Zindela emphasised the horrific nature of the crime at the sentencing hearings, pointing out that Masinga had murdered an innocent child and further disfigured the body by soaking it in boiling water to make sure her scheme worked.
When imposing the sentence, Judge Vukeya strongly criticised the rising rates of domestic abuse and the murder of women and children in South Africa. Despite noting that no punishment could ever bring back the life lost, the judge decided to give 23 years of direct jail.
About the Author
