The Mpumalanga High Court in sitting in Delmas has sentenced Thabo Silas Tsotetsi to life imprisonment for the murdering his girlfriend and hiding her body in a ceiling. Tsotetsi (41) who murdered Nosipho Mthombeni and her badly decomposed body was found concealed in the ceiling at Tsotetsi's house, in Balfour in October 2022, was sentenced on Thursday.

The shocking discovery was made by Tsotetsi's baby mama, who moved in with him, weeks after the murder in October 2022. Mpumalanga SAPS spokesperson Donald Mdhluli said according to information, at first, when the woman confronted Tsotetsi, she was made to believe that the smell could have been caused by dead rats in the ceiling. "Tsotetsi allegedly left her alone in the house after informing her that he was going to pay some bills but never returned. Days later, the woman reported the matter to the police who investigated and it was during this period when the members at Balfour discovered the decomposed body of a female, whose gender was only identified through polished nails and shoes," Mdhluli said.

Mthombeni's family had said at the time that they became worried when they were not able to reach her on her WhatsApp and other social media platforms for weeks. Her aunt ,Nomvula Maya, said when they asked Tsotetsi about Mthombeni's whereabouts, he claimed not to know where she was. "He told us that they had a fight and she had left. He also said that she was no longer responding to his calls and text messages," Maya told ZiMoja at the time. Mdhluli said through investigations, it became known that the body was that of Mthombeni, who was in a relationship with the accused. "It took six months though for the Investigation team to track down Tsotetsi in Witbank on 14 April 2023 and arrested him. He was then charged with murder. Tsotetsi made his first court appearance in Balfour Magistrates Court on 17 April 2023. He was remanded in custody. Thereafter, the case was transferred to the High Court where he made several court appearances which led to his sentencing to life imprisonment," he said.