The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service in the Northern Cape, Lieutenant General Koliswa Otola, has welcomed the life imprisonment sentence handed to a 33-year-old foreign national for the brutal murder of his 21-year-old ex-girlfriend.
The Hopetown Magistrates’ Court found Mohammed Rohman guilty of a murder that took place on Wednesday, 17 January 2024. The court heard that the victim was involved in an argument with Rohman, which escalated into a physical altercation.
During the scuffle, Rohman strangled the young woman with a piece of cloth until she became unresponsive. After realizing she had died, he locked her body inside the house with her seven-year-old child and fled the scene.
In an attempt to evade capture, Rohman hitched a ride with a Correctional Services official, intending to escape to Gauteng Province. However, the plan unraveled when the alert officer overheard Rohman discussing the incident on the phone. The official immediately drove him to the nearest police station in Christiana, where he was arrested.
Rohman was subsequently transported back to Hopetown to face charges. He was formally charged with murder and the contravention of South Africa’s immigration laws.
The investigating officer, Detective Warrant Officer Phillip Kleynhans, was commended for his thorough work on the case. His diligent investigation and successful opposition of bail throughout the legal proceedings were crucial in securing the conviction.
After multiple court appearances, Rohman was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. He received an additional three-month sentence for being in the country illegally. The court also declared him unfit to ever possess a firearm.
