Two accused aged 25 and 51 were sentenced to a consolidated jail term of 23 years imprisonment for murder and rape by the Mahwelereng Regional Court outside Mokopane.
Eric Manu Mahloatshaba aged 51 was sentenced to an effective eight years imprisonment for murder. The sentence follows the incident where a woman, aged 53 was brutally killed last year, on 30 March 2019 at about 14:00 in the Gilead policing area.
The son of the deceased reported that his mother was fighting with his stepfather. During the altercation, the accused hit the victim with a hammer on the back of her head causing serious injuries. The victim was immediately taken to Mankuwe clinic at Ga-Taueatswala village near Steilloop for medical treatment but she succumbed to injuries on arrival.
The Police were summoned to the scene of crime and the initial investigations and manhunt were then activated until the accused was swiftly apprehended.
Meanwhile, Joy Seliki Ngwepe aged 25 was sentenced to an effective fifteen years imprisonment for raping a 24-year-old woman on 3 April 2018 at about 21:00.
The victim departed from home to the local tavern at Nelly village where she stayed there until midnight and eventually decided to walk back home alone. Along the way, the accused emerged and revealed his identity before dragging her to his residence and raped her.
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba, has welcomed these long jail terms on both hands and he also commended the Detectives on the job well done.
“We hope that this jail terms will send a strong message to all the perpetrators of gender-based violence that crime does not pay”, concluded General Ledwaba.
South Africa Today – South Africa News
