The Bloemfontein High Court has sentenced Mpho Isaac Moloi to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years for conspiracy to commit murder, reports Bloemfontein Courant

According to Free State police spokesperson Thabo Covane, 42-year-old Itumeleng Claudete Tlhapuletsa was shot and killed on the evening of Monday, 9 May 2022, in Thabe Street, Rocklands, Bloemfontein.

“Police initially arrested two suspects, Thapelo Skariota Hendricks and Khotso Vincent Motaung, on 16 May 2022. The pair were allegedly found in possession of a .38 Special Rossi firearm containing one live round of ammunition while impersonating crime intelligence officers in the vicinity of the murder scene,” he said.

The firearm and Skariota’s cellphone were submitted for further investigation. An analysis of the cellphone data later revealed a possible motive for Tlhapuletsa’s murder, allegedly linked to a dispute over farmland. Covane explained that, “Police investigations also linked Moloi to the conspiracy and murder through cellphone data analysis. Investigators established that a cellphone allegedly used by Moloi while he was incarcerated in Bloemfontein and Brandfort provided further evidence connecting him to the case.”

Hendricks and Motaung were later shot and killed in 2024.Following the investigation and subsequent court proceedings, Moloi was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and an additional 15 years for conspiracy to commit murder.

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