Mamelodi traffic official to serve life behind bars for wife’s murder
Justice has caught up with a Gauteng traffic officer who brutally murdered his wife in front of their children. He will now spend the rest of his life behind bars.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has welcomed the sentence of life imprisonment and an additional seven years’ direct imprisonment handed down by the Pretoria High Court to Gauteng Provincial Traffic official, Zakhele Bennet Hlongwane (53), from Mamelodi on Friday.
Gauteng NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said Hlongwane was sentenced to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of his wife, Tili Desire Ngobeni (33), five years for pointing a firearm, and two years for malicious property damage.
Mahanjana said the court ordered that the sentences run concurrently with the life sentence and declared him unfit to possess a firearm.
On April 1, 2024, at around 05:00, the accused went to the deceased’s place of residence in Mamelodi.
On arrival, Hlongwane broke open her room door and began to shoot her multiple times in the presence of their five- and three-year-old children.
Mahanjana said the cousin of the deceased heard the gunshots, came out of his room, and the accused threatened him by pointing his firearm at him.
An hour later, Hlongwane handed himself over to the Mamelodi Police Station and has been in custody since the NPA successfully opposed his release on bail.
In court, Hlongwane pleaded guilty to the murder and pointing of a firearm, claiming he was overwhelmed by anger and did not plan to kill his wife.
His legal representative requested the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence, arguing that Hlongwane handed himself over, is a first-time offender, and showed remorse by writing apology letters to the deceased’s family and the community.
However, State Advocate Vusimuzi Tshabalala countered that Hlongwane’s apologies were expressions of regret rather than genuine remorse, as they were only made after conviction.
He argued that as a law enforcement officer, husband, and father, Hlongwane was expected to uphold the law and protect his family, but instead betrayed their trust, violated the deceased’s right to life, and traumatised his children.
Tshabalala emphasised that femicide remains a highly prevalent crime in South Africa, and no level of anger can justify such brutality, urging the court to impose a life sentence.
In delivering judgment, Judge Mashudu Munzhelele agreed with the State, noting that Hlongwane failed to show genuine remorse and was convicted of a serious and prevalent offence.
She described the crime as extremely brutal and careless, committed against the very person he was expected to love and protect.
“As a law enforcement official, he was expected to uphold the law and not violate it as he did. Imposing a lesser sentence would undermine the severity of this offence,” said Mashudu.
The court therefore found no substantial or compelling circumstances to justify deviation from the prescribed sentence.
Acting Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng, Advocate Marika Jansen van Vuuren, commended the work of the prosecutor, stating: “It can never be overemphasised how important human life is.”
Mahanjana said, “The NPA will continue to pursue such cases vigorously to ensure justice for victims and to serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.”
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