Bulelwa Hoala
- Mozambican woman Clara Masinga (37) sentenced to 23 years for murdering her 11-year-old stepdaughter, Jennifer Gumbi, with poisoned ice cream in Mpumalanga.
- Masinga pleaded guilty to premeditated murder, admitting she poisoned the child to spite her biological mother.
- The court condemned violence against children, declaring Masinga unfit to own a firearm.
The High Court in Mbombela on Wednesday, 15 October 2025, sentenced Mozambican national, Clara Masinga (37) to 23 years in prison for the premeditated murder of her stepdaughter, Jennifer Gumbi (11).
Masinga pleaded guilty to the crime, admitting that she poisoned the child’s ice cream with Rattex (rat poison) before dumping her lifeless body in a shallow ditch near the Mlumati River in Malelane.
Her motive for the crime was to spite the child’s biological mother.
According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Mpumalanga spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, Masinga was in a relationship with the deceased child’s father, Rodgers Gumbi, and lived with him at KwaMhlushwa, Phosaville Section.
On 21 March 2015, Masinga used a friend to lure the child from home under the pretense that she wanted to buy her clothes.
Upon arriving at Masinga’s home, the acquaintance remained with the child while Masinga went to buy ice cream and Rattex at a tuck shop nearby.
Masinga then mixed the rat poison into the ice cream and gave it to the child, who later died.
In court, Masinga entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the state, which was accepted.
During sentencing, State Advocate Senzo Zindela argued that Masinga acted under the influence of her accomplice and revealed that the pair also poured boiling water over the child’s body to ensure she was dead.
While delivering the sentence, Judge Vukeya condemned the ongoing violence against women and children in South Africa, saying no sentence could restore the young girl’s life.
“However, the court found that compelling circumstances existed to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence and accordingly imposed 23 years’ direct imprisonment. The accused was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” the NPA said in a statement.
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