Johannesburg - Three police officers killed in Hillbrow and at the Wanderers Street taxi rank in Joburg were “slaughtered like sheep by hired killers”.
This was the description given by Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng in the High Court in Joburg when he recounted the callous murders of the three policemen.
A fourth police officer survived but had to undergo reconstructive surgery to his face.
The first two officers, Geoffrey Matlou and Ianah Rangani, were murdered in King George Street in Hillbrow on August 15, 2012. The third, Nkosinathi Mgimeni, was killed on October 3, 2012 in Wanderers Street in the Joburg CBD. Philly Baloyi survived.
Six other people were killed in the attacks.
Judge Mokgoatlheng convicted Vukani Ngcobo, 29, Bonginkosi Sibisi, 27, and Qhaphelani Chiyi, 27, all from KwaZulu-Natal, of the murders. Four other suspects evaded trial following their release on bail.
The judge agreed with prosecutor Riana Williams that life terms were the only appropriate sentences.
Chiyi was sentenced to nine life terms and more than 200 years, with the 200 years running concurrently over 45 years, for various violent crimes in 2012.
Ngcobo and Sibisi were each sentenced to six life terms plus an effective 45 years.
The three were arrested while partying in Kagiso on the West Rand in December 2012. Police recovered all the weapons used in the murders a few days later.
The judge said the men had “slaughtered the police like sheep”.
“In some instances, the sheep tend to be lucky because sometimes people use blunt knives to slaughter them. In this case, the evidence was that the accused used police-issued Z88 pistols to fire several shots into their bodies until they died.
“The killers then later took away their firearms... to commit other violent crimes.
“There is nothing that justifies that persons should aggregate to themselves whether a person should live or die,” said Judge Mokgoatlheng.
The judge said the three used the slain officers’ weapons to kill four taxi drivers and injure two others at Wanderers Street taxi rank on November 20, 2012.
They made several confessions but denied these murders during the trial, which irked the judge as they failed to show remorse.
“The accused, like old soldiers, wanted to die with their boots on, despite overwhelming odds against them.
“They did not want to raise their hands in the air with the hope of fighting the next day. They did not show remorse or contrition,” said Judge Mokgoatlheng.
He ruled that all of them were hired killers.
The judge made a similar finding about the killing of Hendrik Gabela and Siphamandla Mkhize and the attempted murders of two other men at a tavern in Dube Hostel in Soweto on April 21, 2012.
The victims were watching a game between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs when they were shot execution-style in the back of the head.
“The bullets exited from the front and exploded. The survivors were shot while fleeing from the scene,” the judge said.
Mgimeni’s brother, Vusi, said the family was relieved that his killers would spend the rest of their lives in jail.
“For over two years, we have been waiting for this day. We will celebrate it with my younger brother’s wedding this weekend. We had hoped Nkosinathi would be with us,” he said.
Vusi said his family would go to his brother’s grave in Tzaneen in Limpopo to let him know about the sentencing “so that his soul can be at peace”.
Baloyi, who was Mgimeni’s childhood friend and partner at Hillbrow police station, welcomed the sentences, saying it would hopefully free him from having recurring nightmares about going out on patrol without his partner.
“A new thing that will keep eating at my heart now is that the murderers will still be alive, eating and drinking water from my tax money.
“But I can go to my friend’s grave and tell him: ‘Homeboy, these monkeys received many life sentences for killing you.’”
The Star