The Free State High Court has handed down a 23-year prison sentence to 41-year-old Jacob Petrus Morwe for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Willemina Koelie Magada, 21, bringing a sense of justice to the shocked Jacobsdal community.
In addition to the murder sentence for the December 2024 killing, Morwe received a further five years for the assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm of Willemina’s friend, Lofdania Louw, 25. The court ordered on Thursday, 28 August 2025, that the sentences run concurrently, resulting in an effective imprisonment term of 23 years. Morwe was also automatically declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The court heard that on 29 December 2024, Morwe ambushed the two women as they returned to their home from town. In a violent attack, he stabbed Willemina multiple times to her neck, head, and arms. When Lofdania Louw attempted to intervene and save her friend, she was also attacked. She survived the assault and later received medical treatment for her injuries.
Following the crime, Morwe voluntarily approached the South African Police Service. He confessed to killing his girlfriend and admitted that he had followed the two women from their home to town before carrying out the ambush.
