Dr Mkhuseli Boto sentenced to 10 years for shooting his wife

Dr Mkhuseli Boto, a general practitioner in Nelson Mandela Bay who shot his estranged wife in the face, was  sentenced in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court on Wednesday to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Magistrate Thobile Jikela rejected the defence’s pleas for a non-custodial sentence, referring to the recent spike in gender-based violence.

“The court needs to send out a strong message,” he said.

Boto’s estranged wife, Tabita, 36, who narrowly survived the shooting, was equally happy with the sentence.

“God is indeed good. It is a good day,” the mother, also a doctor, said.

Boto, 51, had shot Tabita point-blank at the family’s Summerstrand home on August 31 last year.

The couple’s children were also in the house at the time.

It was found that Boto then attempted to take his own life by injecting himself with an insulin overdose.

Jikela said Boto had shown no remorse and instead attempted to paint Tabita — the victim — as a liar.