DECEASED POLICEWOMAN’S HUSBAND AND CO-ACCUSED WERE SENTENCED TO FORTY-SIX YEARS EACH

DECEASED POLICEWOMAN’S HUSBAND AND CO-ACCUSED WERE SENTENCED TO FORTY-SIX YEARS EACH

GAUTENG – The Pretoria High Court sitting in Benoni has on Friday, 23 August 2024 sentenced James Veli Masuku (36) and his co-accused Xolani Lawrence Dlamini (31) for the murder of police officer Constable Prudence Masuku to 46 years each.

Constable Prudence Masuku, who was stationed at the Daveyton SAPS, was murdered in Putfontein while on her way to work accompanied by her husband Veli Masuku23 June 2022. Prudence Masuku was seven months pregnant when she was murdered. Investigation by the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation and ballistic results revealed that the service pistol belonging to Constable Prudence Masuku was fired at the scene and that in fact, it was that very pistol that was used to murder the officer.

Veli Masuku alleged that they were confronted by two taxis, the passengers of both taxis approached them and began firing several shots at the deceased while he ran for cover, and upon returning to the vehicle he found that his wife’s service pistol had gone missing. Members of the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation, Ekurhuleni Crime Intelligence, and the JMPD arrested his co-accused after swiftly reacting to information about a suspect demanding cash for murdering the police officer from a “middleman”.

Veli Masuku and Lawrence Dlamini were found guilty as charged on 08 April 2024, after they had pleaded not guilty. The charges were murder, theft of a firearm, two counts of illegal possession of a firearm, and defeating the administration of justice. The pair were sentenced as follows:

Count 1, Murder – 25 years – Life imprisonment each;

Count 2, Theft of Firearm – 10 years imprisonment each;

Count 3, Possession of unlicensed firearm – (5) years imprisonment each;

Count 4, Illegal Possession of ammunition – (2) years imprisonment each;

Count 5, Defeating the administration of justice – (5) years imprisonment each, counts 2,3, and 4 were ordered to run concurrently with count 1, resulting in an effective 30-year jail term for both convicts. They were further declared unfit to possess firearms in the future.

The Provincial Head of the Hawks in Gauteng Major General Ebrahim Kadwa has welcomed the sentence. “I commend the investigators and the prosecution team for the remarkable and meticulous work put into this case. This is especially true because our country is grappling with callous crimes like Gender Based Violence, (GBV), and Femicide. The sentence should act to deter like-minded individuals that justice will be served in the end”