The Polokwane High Court has sentenced 56-year-old Molabe Fannie Seribishane to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, veteran nurse Mamsy Seribishane, who was gunned down at Lebowakgomo Hospital while reporting for duty.

Seribishane, from Ngwaname Newstand in Mafefe, was convicted of arriving at the hospital armed with a semi-automatic firearm, confronting his 52-year-old wife in a staff area and shooting her before fleeing in a white Volkswagen Golf 7. The killing sent shockwaves through the hospital community, where colleagues watched emergency staff battle in vain to save one of their own.

In court, the National Prosecuting Authority detailed a pattern of escalating domestic abuse. Regional spokesperson Mashudu Malabi said Seribishane had repeatedly threatened his wife, violated a protection order granted in 2023 and even threatened to burn down the family home. Prosecutors argued that Mamsy had turned to the courts for protection as her husband refused to accept the breakdown of their marriage.

Police arrested Seribishane weeks after the shooting and found him in possession of a firearm reported stolen in Seshego earlier that year. Ballistic tests conclusively linked the weapon to the bullets that killed his wife, forming the backbone of what the court later described as a “watertight” case.

During sentencing, Senior State Advocate David Sebelebele told the court that the murder was meticulously planned and executed. He said Seribishane acted with “a sense of impunity,” enraged that his wife had sought legal remedies rather than submit to his control. The State argued there were no substantial or compelling circumstances to justify deviating from the prescribed life sentence for premeditated murder.

Judge Karin Leanee Pillay agreed, finding that Seribishane had shown no remorse and continued to blame others for his actions, even in the face of overwhelming evidence and the prior protection order. “He planned the murder and executed it,” she said, adding that society needed clear protection from perpetrators of domestic violence who carry their threats into public spaces.

Alongside life imprisonment for murder, Seribishane received six years for contravening the Domestic Violence Act, 15 years for unlawful possession of a firearm and six years for unlawful possession of ammunition. The court ordered that these terms run concurrently with the life sentence and declared him unfit to possess a firearm.