LIMPOPO – Former police Constable Kulani Obert Manganyi (34) was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Thohoyandou High Court on Saturday 23 December 2017.
Manganyi was convited from the murder and robbery of a 27-year-old spaza shop owner at Hlanganani RDP Section on 24 February 2014, said Police Spokesperson, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo.
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According to earlier reports Manganyi together with an accomplice held Abdulah Hassan Omar and three other victims hostage during an armed robbery in which they fled the scene on foot with R3000 cash.
During the incident Omar was shot twice in the stomach and died on the scene, added Mojapelo.
“Evidence which was collected at the scene of crime and the resultant forensic investigations led to the arrest of Manganyi whose firearm was linked through ballistic examination. His failure to cooperate with the police in the investigation by revealing the identity of his accomplice did not spare him and he was convicted and sentenced alone for the murder of Omar,” confirmed Mojapelo.
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Manganyi was further sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for robbery. The sentences will run concurrently.
The Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba commended a team of dedicated investigators who succeeded in cracking this case. ” We will always be merciless and ruthless when confronting acts of criminality, regardless from which quarter they emanate,” said General Ledwaba.
