The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, has welcomed the substantial sentencing of a 40-year-old man for a 2022 murder in Dingamazi Village.
Siza Solly Mavasa was handed 18 years’ direct imprisonment by the Giyani Regional Court on Monday, 29 September 2025. The sentence follows his conviction for the murder of 39-year-old Abrey Hlengani Chabalala.
According to evidence presented in court, the fatal incident occurred on the evening of 24 September 2022. The deceased, Abrey Hlengani Chabalala, was sitting outside his home in Dingamazi Village at approximately 20:00 after returning from a party. The accused, Mavasa, approached Chabalala from behind and stabbed him multiple times, killing him on the scene before fleeing.
A case of murder was promptly registered and assigned to Detective Sergeant Charles Nzamisa Ngobeni of the Giyani Investigating Unit. Through thorough investigations, Detective Sergeant Ngobeni was able to trace the accused. Mavasa was subsequently arrested a month after the incident at his hiding place in Soweto, Gauteng Province.
Following a full trial, the court found Siza Solly Mavasa guilty and imposed a sentence of 18 years’ direct imprisonment. In addition to the prison term, the court declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
