Johannesburg - Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, the North West Provincial Commissioner, has hailed the sentencing of Tshepiso Mafoko, 28, to life imprisonment, and Tseko Maine, 35, to 20 years in jail, by the Schweizer-Reneke Regional Court on June 29, 2023.
According to police spokeperson Lt. Colonel Amanda Funani, they were found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder in October 2022.
"The duo was sentenced in connection with an incident in which they robbed Aobakwe Kgosima, 31, in the early hours of Saturday, February 10, 2018 at Amalia.
"Kgosima, from Taung, was visiting a friend in Amalia when he went to a local pub, and the evidence showed that the convicts followed Kgosima back to his friend's house. When the prisoners approached and dragged Kgosima outside the yard, Mafoko attacked the victim with a knife, while Maine snatched his cell phone and money and fled the scene.
"A neighbour, who witnessed the incident, called the police, then later called an ambulance, and the victim was found alive and lying on the ground. He managed to identify the suspects who were part of the bystanders and informed his friend, who tipped the police.
"Kgosima was transported to the hospital, where he died on his arrival. Following an investigation, the two suspects were arrested on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, and they have been in custody since their arrest.
"Mafoko, 28, was charged with Count 1 Murder and Life imprisonment, and Maine, 35, with Count 1 Murder and 20 years imprisonment."
Funani added that the accused were both given 8 years imprisonment for robbery aggravating, which will run concurrently with the sentences.
"The accused were further declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Section 103 of the Firearms Control Act, 2000 (Act No. 60 of 2000).
"Mafoko was also sentenced to 18 years imprisonment each for two counts of rape that he committed before killing Kgosima, and he was linked to two counts of rape after he raped two minors in September 2012 and October 2014. According to information, Mafoko was on parole in January 2018 for a case of Housebreaking and theft that he committed in 2017 when he was arrested for the murder case.
"On welcoming the sentence, the Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, congratulated the Amalia Detectives and the Prosecutor for working together and securing the conviction, which he said will certainly serve as deterrence," said Funani.
The Star
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