Limpopo comedian Ntambudzeni Rasendedza (40) of Lwamondo village was sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment by the Sibasa Regional Court on Wednesday.

The accused is a well-known comedian of Tshovhilingana, and the community knows him as “Mr Bundu”.

“He was convicted on a count of attempted murder, kidnapping, and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm,” said Ms Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s regional spokesperson, following Rasendedza’s conviction.

The first incident happened in August 2019, when “Mr Bundu” assaulted his girlfriend with a wooden stick and electric cable, he further dripped burning plastic all over her body and locked her inside his house for two weeks. Rasendedza also gave her a bucket which she had to use when she wanted to relief herself. The second incident happened when Rasendedza and his girlfriend were coming from a party. Rasendedza hit his girlfriend with a big stone and broke her leg, and further tore up her clothes and left her naked.

Rasendedza pleaded not guilty, and denied that he burnt the victim. “He told the court that the victim burned herself and further fell and broke her leg,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.

The regional prosecutor argued in court that the offence was serious and prevalent in the court‘s area of jurisdiction. “The prosecutor further told the court that the accused should be sentenced to direct imprisonment, to send out a clear message to would-be offenders,” said Malabi-Dzhangi. She concluded to say that the NPA remains steadfast in vigorously prosecuting gender-based violence (GBV) cases.