The Polokwane High Court sentenced Ashan Fraz Cheema to life imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, Mohlale Precious Magabane.
Cheema, 33, also received two years for theft and five years for defeating the ends of justice.
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the sentence – and the Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Ivy Thenga, commended the good work of Warrant Officer Kotlolo Patrick Pila and advocate Nkhetheni Munyai.
Cheema represented himself after firing his legal representatives several times.
During the trial, Raza Ali, a friend of Cheema, was called as a State witness.
Ali said the accused told him about his problems with his girlfriend, and that, on 23 December 2018, Cheema confessed he had killed her by using a knife.