Cape Town - A jealous ex who stabbed his former girlfriend to death in front of their 2-year-old daughter has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
Clyde Jonas was sentenced in the Blue Downs Regional Court, nearly three years after he murdered his estranged girlfriend Rhucian-Kay Lawak in Kraaifontein.
Lawak, 28, was found with multiple stab wounds to her body at her residence in Scottsdene on September 29, 2021.
Via a Facebook page created for the court case, titled Justice for Rhucian-Kay Lawak, family and friends said they were satisfied with the outcome while others disagreed and said a life sentence had to be imposed.
At the time of the murder, Lawak had reportedly been feeling ill, complaining of a headache and had gone to lay down on her bed with her daughter.
She had been employed at Virgin Active as a manager.
Jonas had rushed inside the bedroom, where he repeatedly stabbed Lawak in front of their child who had begun crying frantically.
It was Lawak’s mother who rushed to the scene and immediately called for help when she realised what had happened.
Jonas fled the scene and was later arrested.
Lawak had managed to carry her daughter to her mother before collapsing and dying.
Siya Monakali of Ilitha Labantu said there had been more than 800 murders linked to gender-based violence over the past year.
“Violence against women in South Africa has reached alarming scales as revealed in the second quarter crime statistics. The reporting period of July to September 2023 indicate that 881 women and 293 children were murdered.
“In light of these startling statistics we are further reminded that in South Africa we have a low conviction rate of perpetrators of violence against women and children. This has ultimately resulted in a sense of lawlessness and perpetuation of crimes committed against women.
“As an organisation that has been advocating for the rights of women and children for more than 35 years, Ilitha Labantu calls on our criminal justice system to impose the harshest sentences on those who perpetrate crimes against women and to treat all cases with the same level of urgency and expediency they require.”
genevieve.serra@inl.co.za