Tanzanian national Julies Lucas (37) was sentenced to 23 years direct imprisonment for murdering internationally acclaimed actor Sibusiso Khwinana outside Sterland Mall in Pretoria in 2019.

Lucas was arrested shortly after the murder. He was sentenced in the Pretoria High Court on Friday.

Khwinana’s family said they were still struggling to cope with the loss of their son.

“It is not easy for a father to bury his own son especially when he did not die of natural causes, but was killed unnecessarily because of greed,” Khwinana’s family says.

At the time of the murder, Khwinana and two of his friends had gone to Sterland Mall in Arcadia to watch the premiere of the Matwetwe movie in which Khwinana was the lead actor.

NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana says after watching the movie, while waiting for the e-hailing taxi service outside the mall and taking pictures, Lucas forcefully grabbed Khwinana’s cellphone and ran away.

Mahanjana says Khwinana ran after him and, after catching up, a struggle for the phone ensued.

“During the struggle, Lucas stabbed Khwinana in his chest with a sharp object and fled the scene.”

Khwinana was found on the floor bleeding by his friends.

They called for medical assistance, but Khwinana was declared dead upon the arrival of the medics.

“According to the post-mortem report, Khwinana died as a result of a stab wound through the heart,” she says.

The NPA welcomed the sentence handed down by Pretoria high court judge Portia Phahlane.

Phahlane, delivering her judgment, said that “Lucas had robbed the entertainment industry and South Africa as a whole, of a great talent”.

She said Lucas had shown no remorse and had no respect and understanding of the importance of taking an oath because he lied several times during his testimony.

Phahlane, during sentencing, ordered that Lucas should also be deported back to his country of origin and that the copy of the judgment should be made available to the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services and the Minister of Home Affairs.

The order for deportation comes as Phahlane had also convicted Lucas of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and being illegal in the country and using fraudulent documents on February 3, 2022.

Lucas was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.