Woman sentenced to 20 years for Mpumalanga police officer’s murder

Zanele Mkhonto (30) was found guilty and sentenced by the Mbombela High Court for the murder of KaBokweni police Sergeant Mandlenkosi Happy Thwala (45).

Thwala was killed in Gedlembane Trust in Pienaar, Mpumalanga, on August 2, 2022, by Mkhonto. She was sentenced to 20 years’ direct imprisonment.

According to Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa, Mkhonto pleaded guilty in November last year.

“She told the court she was in a romantic relationship with Thwala and that they had resided together in Gedlembane Trust in Pienaar from January to July 2022. She left for her parental home after realising that their relationship was volatile,” says Nyuswa.

“In August 2022, she visited Thwala in Gedlembane and an altercation between the two ensued. He fell asleep and Mkhonto took his service pistol and fatally shot him several times. She then left the scene, taking the firearm and his vehicle. On her way to her home in Masoyi, she came across a roadblock in Zwelisha near KaBokweni and threw away the firearm, which was later found by the members of the public,” she adds.

Nyuswa says Mkhonto informed her friend about the crime she committed and the police were alerted. She was arrested and the state successfully opposed her release on bail.

“In aggravation of sentence, the state argued that the offender had not shown any remorse for her actions. Instead, she attempted to trivialise her actions by untested narratives via presentence reports. The victim impact statements were handed in and detailed how Thwala’s death affected his family,” Nyuswa says.

The judge remarked that the killing of a police officer is a loss to the state and society at large, and found substantial and compelling circumstances justifying deviation from the ordained minimum sentence of life.

Mkhonto was also declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of Section 103 of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000.