Kholizwe Masina was found guilty of murder by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Mbombela on Thursday and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

Masina (41) was initially arrested in March 2021 in connection with a murder that had occurred a month prior.

“The court heard during the trial that, on February 11, 2021, the suspect had found the victim at a house in Barberton, fixing his vehicle,” said Captain Magonseni Nkosi, the provincial police spokesperson.

Nkosi said the murderer shot and killed the victim.

“The incident was reported to the police and a case of murder was registered. After intense investigation, Masina was arrested. Since his arrest, he has been remanded in custody until he was sentenced yesterday [July 18].”

It was not Masina’s first tangle with the law, either, as he had previously been convicted for cases including rape, murder and robberies nearly two decades ago. Nkosi stated that he had been terrorising the community of Pienaar between 2001 and 2005.

During his sentencing on Thursday, he was slapped with life imprisonment for murder and two years’ imprisonment for possession of an unlicensed firearm.

“He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” Nkosi said.