A Gauteng judge has sentenced two men to an effective 82 years behind bars for committing a series of crimes that included murder and hijacking.
Tshepo Aubrey Mokoena, 33, and Sibusiso Elvis Hlatshwayo, 30, from Ekangala, were this week sentenced in the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria.
The duo who pleaded not guilty asked the court to give them a suspended sentence because they had children to care for.
However, the State went on to prove its case, which showed that Mokoena and Hlatshwayo were criminals. This included kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, the unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
In the first incident, on June 12, 2019, the duo hijacked a 56-year-old man while he was visiting a friend in Soshanguve.
NPA provincial spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the duo approached the victim and at gunpoint and hijacked his vehicle.
“Less than four days later the criminals went on to kidnap and hijack 26-year-old Peaceful Khulekani Nxumalo in Bronkhorstspruit. They later killed him,” Mahanjana said.
Mahanjana said the tracker vehicle recovery services noticed that the vehicle was being driven at high speed compared to the usual speed.
“After investigation, the car tracker led them to Bronkhorstspruit, where they found the car parked next to another car which was stolen a few days before, with Hlatshwayo and Mokoena sleeping in each car.
“The tracker recovery services team then apprehended the two and called the police who arrested them on the scene and have been in custody since,” she added.
Mahanjana said both pleaded not guilty.
“However, State prosecutor, advocate Lawrence More, told the court that the two were not remorseful and that they committed a serious offence, which warrants a maximum sentence.
“He added that they caused the deceased’s family emotional and psychological trauma as they had to bury a decomposed body of the deceased which was discovered three months after the incident,” she said.
The judge agreed that both men had no regard for the law.
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