PROVINCIAL COMMISSIONER WELCOMES HEFTY SENTENCES METED OUT AGAINST TWO MURDER AND ROBBERY ACCUSED,
POLOKWANE: The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the life sentences that were meted out by the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Polokwane , on Monday, 19 August 2024 against Khomotso Pitsi Mamphaka aged 36 and Donald Lethope Tshehla aged 31 after they were found guilty of robbing and fatally shooting a foreign national businessman.
The trial court found that on 2022-04-13 at about 21:00, the accused went to the victim’s shop, threatened him with firearm, attacked him, robbed him of his vehicle and a large amount of money and thereafter fatally shot him. The accused fled the scene with the victim’s motor vehicle, and it was later found abandoned at Kampeng Section around Tafelkop in the Motetema policing area.
The case docket was assigned to Detective Sergeant Raymond Phago of Motetema Detective Unit for further investigations, and the two accused were traced and arrested for murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of firearms, and ammunition and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Following meticulous investigations by the investigating officer, the two accused Khomotso Pitsi Mamphaka (36) and Donald Lethope Tshehla (31) were sentenced as follows:
•Count 1 : Murder = life imprisonment.
•Count 2 : Robbery with aggravating circumstances = 15 years imprisonment.
•Count 3 : Unlawful possession of firearm = 05 years imprisonment.
•Count 4 : Unlawful possession of ammunition = 02 years imprisonment.
•Count 5 : Conspiracy to commit robbery = 08 years imprisonment.
The sentences in counts 2,3,4, and 5 will run concurrently with sentence in count 1 .
“We commend the arresting team and investigating officer for the sterling work which led to successful prosecution and subsequent sentence,” concluded Lieutenant General Hadebe.
