MBABANE – Thursday, June 12, 2025 – A 32-year-old Malagwane man convicted of assaulting his girlfriend has escaped jail time after he begged the Mbabane Magistrates Court to allow him to serve the community instead.
Karabo Ramanane, who admitted to physically attacking his partner, Siphesihle Fakudze, was convicted under Section 77 (1)(a) of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act of 2018. The court had given him a choice between paying a E5,000 fine or serving two years behind bars.
However, Ramanane told Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi he could not afford even E10 and pleaded to be allowed to work off his sentence instead. “I don’t even have E10, Your Honour,” he told the court. “I beg you to have mercy on me and let me do community service.”
The magistrate agreed to his request and suspended the prison sentence on condition that he begins community service at the Magistrates Court from 8am on Friday.
Ramanane had attacked his partner after reportedly finding her with another man. While the court acknowledged the seriousness of the offence, the magistrate accepted his plea as a step towards accountability, describing his request as genuine and sincere.
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