Five males who committed heinous crimes between April and May 2020 were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in the Polokwane Division of the High Court on June 19, 2024.
Matandana Nickson, Trymore Maparadza, Tonherel Mujeki, Obey Mutema, and Philmon Sithole are all foreign nationals who have been convicted and punished for murder, robbery, and housebreaking.
The group, consisting of one Mozambican and four Zimbabwean nationals, committed their acts on April 14, 2020.
They began at the Kgautswana clinic in Leboeng, robbing security officers and taking their firearms. They then broke into the nurse’s home, taking belongings and money.
They didn’t stop there. They also stormed inside the clinic, stole laptops and computers, and fled in a red Nissan Hardbody bakkie.
They then stole a shop in Makgwareng hamlet, shooting and killing a Pakistani proprietor while injuring his assistant.
On May 6, 2020, a coordinated police operation resulted in their capture in a variety of sites, including Burgersfort and Riba Cross, Driekop, and Mashamothane hamlet.
The police seized stolen items as well as a red bakkie that was being repainted to conceal its identity.
Sergeant Tumelo Shai of the Leboeng SAPS Detectives team oversaw the investigation, ensuring that the guys were held in custody until their trial.
They were each sentenced to 15 years for robbery and 10 years for housebreaking, to be served concurrently. They were also sentenced to 15 years in prison for another conviction of robbery, to be served separately.
The guys received further sentences of 15 years in prison for murder and 10 years for attempted murder, to run concurrently.
Each convicted felon will serve more than 20 years in jail and has been ruled ineligible to own guns.
Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, the Provincial Commissioner of Limpopo, expressed satisfaction with the verdict and sentencing handed down by the Polokwane High Court.
The Commissioner praised the court’s decision as a crucial step toward removing persons who constitute a threat to society from the province, adding that the five men “did not deserve a place within the community”.
