Two men received a collective sentence of 130 years imprisonment for the killing of a man during a hijacking in Thabong and for being in possession of a stolen vehicle as well as an illegal firearm with ammunition.
The two, Ndumiso Mfeno (42) and Ayabonga Dlokweni (40) were sentenced by the Free State High Court in Welkom for two Thabong cases and an Ennerdale case, including possession of stolen vehicles.
The court heard that on 29 August 2019 at about 18:50 Mr Matias Sithole arrived at home in Thabong when his Toyota D4D double cab bakkie was hijacked by two suspects. He was fatally wounded. The case was assigned to Detective Warrant Officer Gerrie Nel of Thabong Serious and Violent Crimes.
On the 12 September 2019 one of the suspects, Ndumiso Mfene, was found in possession of a stolen vehicle in Pinetown and was linked to the Thabong hijacking. The investigation led to another suspect, Ayabonga Dlokweni, who was arrested on 8 October 2019 at Thabong for driving a stolen vehicle. Inside the vehicle, a R5 rifle, magazine and ammunition were found.
Ndumiso Mfene was sentenced to a collective 45 years, of which 20 years for robbery aggravated and life imprisonment for the murder of Mr Sithole.
Ayabonga Dlokweni was sentenced to a collective of 85 years, which include 15 years for aggravated robbery, life imprisonment for the murder of Mr Sithole and a further 5 years for being in possession of a stolen vehicle, 25 years for being in possession of a R5 rifle, and 15 years for the possession of ammunition.
