The Giyani Regional Court sentenced to life imprisonment a 41-year-old man, Bonginkosi Godfrey Lucky Ngobeni, from Mageva village in Giyani. 

NPA Limpopo spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said the 41-year-old was arrested on December 25, 2010 in Gauteng after he terrorised the villages of Homu, Mageva and Xamfana in Giyani. Between 24 to 27 November 2010, Ngobeni shot and killed Const Jonas Sevha Chabalala of the Tzaneen Uniform branch. He further shot the deceased’s girlfriend before taking their vehicle.” 

“The following day he robbed a mobile phone using a firearm, wearing a police uniform and further committed a house robbery under the pretence that he is a police officer.” 

She said Ngobeni further robbed an old man of his firearm, a box of bullets, three mobile phones and money amounting to R10 000.

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 “Ngobeni was arrested in possession of the mobile phones, the vehicle of the deceased and the firearm of the old man with its ammunition.” 

In aggravating the sentence, Adv Norman Makhubele argued that the accused should be removed from society as he is not a candidate who can be rehabilitated. 

“Ngobeni escaped from the prison where he was supposed to serve a 17 years sentence, he used the deceased vehicle to commit all these offences, and a firearm to harm all his victims.” 

He added that Ngobeni was not going to stop his evil deeds if he was not arrested. 

The court sentenced him to life imprisonment for the murder, 15 years on every one of the four counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, two years for impersonating a police officer, five years for attempted murder and one year for assault. The court ordered all these sentences to run concurrently with the life sentence.