MBOMBELA -Vusi Sihlabela (41), Karabo Makhubedu (31) and Norman Mokoena (25) were sentenced to life imprisonment last Tuesday, January 11, by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court.

The court heard how, on June 2, 2019, the three had entered a local tavern in Marite Trust near Hazyview, randomly targeted a man and robbed him of his wallet.

When the men heard the following day that the man had reported the incident to the police, they hunted him down, found him at his house and shot and killed him. They also shot and wounded his nephew in the process.

The police launched an investigation into the matter and managed to trace and arrest Sihlabela in August 2019. Makhubedu and Mokeona were arrested in 2020.

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Sihlabela was slapped with life imprisonment for murder and a combined 75 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearm as well as unlawful possession of ammunition.

Makhubedu was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and a combined 65 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearm as well as unlawful possession of ammunition.

Mokeona was handed life imprisonment for murder and a combined 65 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, attempted murder, unlawful possession of firearm as well as unlawful possession of ammunition. Manamela applauded the team of detectives for their hard work and thorough investigation.