A 45-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the murder of a homeless man in 2015.

He shot and killed the young man in an act of revenge after his younger brother claimed he was assaulted by a group of homeless boys.

Madimetja Silas Mahlatsi was handed down the sentence on March 9 in Kempton Magistrate’s Court after he was found guilty of shooting and killing the victim, who was estimated to be in his early 20s.

According to Kempton police spokesperson, Capt Jethro Mtshali, the murder took place on July 25 at 5.20am.

“Mahlatsi’s younger brother had accused a group of homeless boys of assaulting him. He (Mahlatsi) went to where the homeless boys were sleeping in the early hours of the morning and began firing random shots at them,” Mtshali explained.

The boys, startled by the gun shots, got up and ran away. Mahlatsi continued shooting and followed them to the corner of West and Park streets. The young man was fatally wounded when he was shot in the head.

“After a marathon trial the magistrate found the accused guilty of murder and his firearm licence was revoked.”

Until today, the police have been unable to identify the deceased or determine his exact age.

The station commander of Kempton Park, Brig Bertha Kgoroba, welcomed the sentence.

Kgoroba added that if homeless people committed a crime, they too should be reported to the police as only the court was justified by the constitution to punish perpetrators of a crime.

“It is a crime to take the law into your own hands.”

Kgoroba applauded the investigating officer Detetive Jason Bramdaw for his sterling investigating skills.