S. African court sentences "cannibal" to 18-year imprisonment

The Western Cape High Court on Wednesday sentenced a man to 18 years of imprisonment for eating his murdered victim's heart.

Andrew Chimboza, 35, pleaded guilty to killing 62-year-old Mbuyiselo Manona in Gugulethu, a township 15 km from Cape Town in 2014, but denied eating his heart.

Chimboza stabbed his victim in the neck with a fork during an argument and stabbed him several times with a knife, and then removed Manona's heart, cut it up and ate it.

Judge Ashley Binns-Ward handed down the sentence after presenting evidence at the court.

"I am of the view that a sentence of 18 years is appropriate," said Binns-Ward.

Before the sentence, Chimboza was psychiatrically assessed to determine whether he had mental illness.

Binns-Ward said the assessment found that Chimboza had no mental illness and rated low in terms of risk and psychopathology.

The judge said this assisted him in arriving at an appropriate sentence. Endi