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- Nozizwe Stefaans and her boyfriend also stabbed and wounded the victim's three relatives.
- Stefaans doubles as a loan shark and was owed R500 by the victim.
- Magistrate Pumla Sibiya described Stefaans as remorseless.
A Port Elizabeth tavern owner who murdered a man in November for failing to pay for two bottles of wine he took on credit, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday.
Port Elizabeth Regional Court Magistrate Pumla Sibiya described Nozizwe Stefaans as "remorseless" and her actions as brazen, before sending her away for life.
Stefaans, 46, who doubled as a loan shark, was also owed R500 by her 32-year-old victim Thembelani Blom, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
The murder took place on 25 November 2019 at Blom's Kuyga home in Greenbushes, southern Port Elizabeth.
Stefaans and her boyfriend stormed Blom's home and stabbed him to death in front of three horrified family members.
NPA spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani said the couple had also stabbed and wounded Blom's three relatives Wallie Blom, Phumeza August and Sinazo Ndzinge.
The horrifying details were heard in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court.
'No remorse, brazen'
Ngcakani said Stefaan's boyfriend is still at large after evading arrest. The NPA did not provide his name.
Stefaans was further sentenced to four years for the attempted murders, 15 years for robbery, and five for kidnapping.
All the sentences would run concurrently, said Ngcakani.
In a statement, Ngcakani said: "On 25 November 2019, Stefaans and her boyfriend, who is still at large, entered the home of Blom. They demanded R500 and money for two bottles of wine that Blom owed them. He promised to pay them back the following Monday. However, instead, Stefaans and her boyfriend drew knives and stabbed him several times on the chest. Blom succumbed to his wounds and died."
Ngcakani said:
The acting chief prosecutor for the Port Elizabeth cluster, Philisile Kakangu, expressed appreciation about the sentence.
"There is no place in our society for people like the accused," he said.
State prosecutor, advocate Benedict Wilson, and Sibiya both remarked that Stefaans had showed "no remorse throughout the trial and that her actions were brazen as she attacked innocent people".
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