PASTOR SENTENCED TO LIFE IMPRISONMENT FOR MURDER
A 31-year-old man, Ngwako Elvis Selowa -Makhotoka, a businessman and a pastor of Jesus Christ Grace Ministries in Kuranta village Bolobedu area appeared at the Polokwane High Court on charges of murder, illegal possession of firearm, possession of ammunition and attempt to defeat the administration of justice.
It is alleged that on 07 August 2021, Thabiso Lethube Masie (deceased) and her friend were driving back home from Shikiming village in Limpopo when they came across the accused (pastor Selowa) and his friend (witness) pretending that their vehicle had broken down and needed assistance.
The accused and the deceased were well-known to each other. The deceased stopped her car and alighted to find out if the accused is not encountering any challenges with his car, that’s when the accused shot her five times.
After shooting the deceased the accused fled the scene. In an attempt to conceal his deeds the accused instructed his friend to mislead the police about the identity of the person who shot the deceased and to clean up the deceased’s vehicle to eliminate possible fingerprints and gun residue using methylated spirit. The friend of the accused was later turned into a section 204 state witness.
During the trial the court heard that the pastor and his friend went to the tarvern to buy some beers. On their return to the pastor’s home, the pastor told his friend that he (pastor) had a job to do and he was armed with a firearm. He stopped his motor vehicle, alighted and pretended that their car had a mechanical failure whereas the pastor knew that the deceased will soon be driving along the same road. Indeed, the deceased and her friend emerged driving not knowing that the accused was waiting for them. The deceased stopped her car to find out if the accused is not encountering any challenges with his car so that she can assist him. She then alighted from her car and suddenly the accused shot her several times. She was rushed to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
The accused was on the run until two months later when he was arrested at a filling station near Polokwane.
In aggravation of sentence the state advocate Muneiwa Ratshibvumo argued that contract killing had become very prevalent in our communities and harsh sentences were warranted.
She further argued that there were no substantial and compelling circumstances warranting a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence in order to send a clear message to other would-be criminals.
Judge Maake Francis Kganyago, in sentencing the accused, stated that the deceased was killed by a person whom she trusted. The court further remarked that, the accused was an evil man who hides behind a pulpit, a wolf who disguised himself in a sheep skin. The murder of the deceased was carefully planned and executed. The accused did not show any remorse.
The court also said that although the accused was 29 years of age during the commission of the offence there was no evidence to show that his youthfulness played any role in the commission of the offence.
Therefore, the accused was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, five(5)years direct imprisonment for illegal possession of firearm, two(2) years direct imprisonment for possession of ammunition and one (1) year direct imprisonment for attempting to defeat the administration of justice. The sentences in counts 2-4 were ordered to run concurrently with the sentence in count 1 and the effective sentence is life imprisonment.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Ivy Thenga welcome the sentence and hope that the sentence will indeed send a clear message to the other criminals who preyed for the vulnerable and congratulate advocate Ratshibvumo and investigating officer Eric Mathebula of Mokwakwaila police station.
