Noluvuyo Sinyikatha convicted of premeditated murder of six-year-old

Noluvuyo Sinyikatha, 23, has been convicted of the premeditated murder of six-year-old Likuwe Mpokopi by the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Mthatha. The conviction follows a two-year legal process regarding the death of the child, whose body was discovered floating in a river in Ngcanasini, Mqanduli, on 28 August 2024.

The prosecution established that Sinyikatha acted on the motive that the child’s mother was responsible for the death of Sinyikatha’s own nine-month-old infant. Although the infant had died due to illness, Sinyikatha believed the mother, who was the sister of Sinyikatha’s boyfriend, was to blame. The court found the state had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt through circumstantial evidence and a confession that the defendant later attempted to withdraw. The case now moves toward the sentencing phase.