A 24-year-old woman from Mbangweni has been sentenced to five years imprisonment after admitting that she falsely accused her boyfriend of rape following a sexual disagreement between the couple.
Fundile Tsabedze appeared before Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi at Mbabane Magistrate’s Court, where she faced two counts of contravening the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence (SODV) Act. According to the charge sheet, Tsabedze unlawfully and wrongfully made a false statement at the Mbabane Police Station on Sunday, alleging that her boyfriend, Hlengizwe Dladla had sexually abused her. The charge was laid in contravention of Section 120 of the Act.
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On a second count, Tsabedze was charged under Section 77 of the SODV Act for malicious damage to property. It was alleged that on January 1 at Thembelihle she unlawfully damaged a 32-inch Samsung television set valued at E3800 by pushing it off a table. The television was the lawful property of Dladla. When advised of her constitutional right to legal representation, Tsabedze elected to conduct her own defence and pleaded guilty to both charges.
Principal Magistrate Nhlabatsi asked Tsabedze to explain her actions. She told the court that the incident arose from a dispute over intimacy. “I was hurt when he continued to have sexual intercourse with me.”
During mitigation, Tsabedze apologised to the court and expressed remorse for her conduct, stating that it had never been her intention to cause harm or bring false accusations. After considering her plea, the court sentenced her to five years imprisonment, with the option of paying a E5 000 fine. However, E3 000 of the fine and three years of the sentence were suspended for three years, on condition that she did not commit a similar offence in contravention of the SODV Act.
