A Pretoria man was sentenced to 15 years direct imprisonment by the Pretoria North Magistrates’ Court for the unprovoked murder of a 20-year-old in Soshanguve.

The court also declared him unfit to possess a firearm following the fatal stabbing incident that shocked the local community.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, the murder took place on January 23, 2024.

The 20-year-old Tshireltetso Mananmela went to the nearby tuck shop in Soshanguve to buy cigarettes. While at the tuck shop, Manamela came across Tebogo Boikie Selowa (31), who pointed at him with a knife.

“A nearby community member witnessed the altercation and tried intervening, but Selowa pushed him away. Thereafter, he proceeded to stab Manamela twice in the neck, and he died on the scene because of his injuries.

“Selowa then fled the scene; however, the following morning, he handed himself over to the Soshanguve Police Station.”

In court, Selowa pleaded not guilty to the charge of intentionally killing the deceased. Instead, he told the court that he had acted out of self-defence.

However, the State Prosecutor Hanlie Du Preez led compelling evidence from witnesses who were on the scene when the incident happened and proved that, indeed, Selowa intentionally stabbed the deceased unprovoked.

Mahanjana said during sentencing proceedings, Selowa, through his legal representative, asked the court to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years direct imprisonment because he is young and has also shown remorse by apologising to the family of the deceased.

“Prosecutor Du Preez argued against the deviation from the prescribe minimum sentence because Selowa was convicted of a serious offence that is very prevalent in the court’s jurisdiction.

“Furthermore, she said that the deceased was a young man who had a bright future ahead of him, and in just minutes, his entire future was robbed from him, and his family was robbed of a son.”

Du Preez also argued that Selowa showed no sincere remorse for the offence because he only apologised to the family of the deceased after he was found guilty of the offence.

“She also handed in Victim Impact Statements (VIS) facilitated by the Court Preparation Officer, Maano Magondo, where the deceased parents stated how the death of their son left them traumatised and heartbroken, as they had hopes that their son would grow up and make them proud.”

In delivering the judgement, the Regional Court Magistrate Pieter Nel agreed with the state that Selowa did not show sincere remorse for the offence and continued to add that a young man’s life was taken away from him for no apparent reason.

“Unfortunately, our country has a high criminal rate; as such, the community expects the court to protect them from perpetrators such as this one by removing them from society”, he added.

Furthermore, Nel said, the VIS clearly shows the court that the murder of the deceased left a severe and traumatic impact on the family. Therefore, he found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from imposing the prescribed minimum sentence.

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