BOSCHFONTEIN – The accused, Derick Jonas Mhlongo, was convicted and sentenced to 15 years for house robbery and 15 for the murder of Mr Gideon Mkhatshwa (54) on September 21, 2014, at his house in Driekoppies.
The accused allegedly hit the victim three times on the head with a shovel, took a cellphone and car radio belonging to the victim and left him to bleed to death.
According to Mhlongo, who entered a guilty plea, he entered Mkhatshwa’s house to find out why “he bright him with lights” but the victim did not co-operate and they ended up fighting.
Schoemansdal Police Station spokesman Const Nompilo Qwabe, said police welcomed the imprisonment as it would send a clear message to the community not to take the law into their own hands no matter what the circumstances are.
