A 23-year-old man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Sundumbili police station clerk, Gareth Toohey.

Nhlanhla “Sathane” Mhlongo was sentenced by the Mtubatuba High Court on Tuesday to life imprisonment for the murder, plus 15 years for robbery, five years for kidnapping and five years for malicious damage to property.

Toohey (38) was brutally kidnapped and murdered last year January and his vehicle was found burnt at a sugarcane field in the Nyoni area. His body was found nearby, his hands and legs tied with a rope and his body burnt.

Police spokesperson captain Nqobile Gwala said an investigation revealed that Toohey had been assaulted with a hammer and stabbed with a screwdriver before being set alight.

“He was also robbed of R200 in cash that was taken from his wallet. The money was used to buy petrol at a service station to set the victim and his vehicle alight. Mhlongo was arrested at the Mangethe area, near Mandeni. It was also established that he was out on parole for a robbery case committed in 2018,” said Gwala.

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