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Five gang members, who terrorised a local Mpumalanga community, were sentenced for various crimes.
The five appeared in the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court on Tuesday.
Eduard Ndlovu, 34, Thulani Maphanga, 32, Evens Mavimbela, 30, and Shane Ngobeni, 24, were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Bongani Makutu, 31.
Makutu was shot and killed in Marite, Mpumalanga.
Teven Mokoena, 25, could not be linked to the murder and was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
During court proceedings, Marite residents revealed how they were terrorised by gangsters, with brutal murders the order of the day.
It was also alleged that many residents were too terrified to come forward with information that could assist police because they feared for their lives.
The area of Marite, which is in the Calcutta policing precinct, became a war zone, said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Selvey Mohlala.
“In 2019, police realised that most young men were shot and killed, with no witnesses coming forth in those murder cases. Suspects would normally be arrested by the police, but then released from custody as the cases were jeopardised due to reluctance by witnesses,” Mohlala said.
He added:
On 5 January 2021, Makutu was shot and killed, but the man who witnessed the murder was left unscathed, said Mohlala.
He said gang members kidnapped and intimidated the witness, threatening to kill him should he provide information to the police.
“They released him, but later started looking for him again, in June 2021, due to possible information he could share with police. The witness was nearly killed after being shot, but fortunately survived, with just a bullet injury to his hand,” said Mohlala.
He said the witness was subsequently placed under protection.
The arrest of the gang members
On 16 June 2021, Mohlala said Ndlovu, Maphanga and Mokoena were traced and arrested at Green Valley, near Acornhoek, Mpumalanga.
He said:
Three months later, Mavimbela and Ngobeni were arrested.
Sentencing
The trial began on 25 April 2022.
A breakdown of the sentences handed down on Tuesday:
Ndlovu, Maphanga, Ngobeni and Mavimbela were each sentenced to life imprisonment for murder;
The four accused were also sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and five years for intimidation;
Ndlovu and Maphanga were sentenced to five years for possession of unlicensed ammunition;
Ndlovu and Ngobeni were each sentenced to five years for attempted murder;
Kidnapping and intimidation will run concurrently with the life sentence for the four accused, and for Ndlovu and Ngobeni, the count of attempted murder will run consecutively with the life sentence; and
The count of possession of unlicensed ammunition for Ndlovu and Maphanga will run consecutively with the life sentence.
All five accused were declared unfit to possess a firearm, Mohlala added.
NEWS24.COM
