Remaining Burgersfort bus bombing suspects to hear their fate today
The three men were found guilty in the Modikwa Platinum Mine bus bombing incident in April 2018 which left six people dead and 28 injured.
LIMPOPO – The Limpopo High Court, this week convicted the last three men accused in the bombing of a Modikwa Platinum Mine bus in April 2018.
Sipho Khumalo (29), Philemon Makwana (34) and Thabo Mokgala (28) were three of five men arrested for their involvement in the incident. The fifth suspect was released after he could not be positively linked to the incident, while the fourth accused, Kgaugelo Moime (30), was sentenced and jailed in September 2019.
Read more: Man sentenced to 630 years in prison for Burgersfort bus bombing
The remaining defendants appeared in the court on Tuesday, June 28 were each found guilty on six counts of murder, 47 counts of attempted murder and one count of malicious damage to property, said Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, the regional spokesperson for the Directors of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in Limpopo.
Read more: BURGERSFORT: Bus bombing leaves six people burnt beyond recognition
The sentencing follows an incident on April 2, 2018 in the Driekop village outside Burgersfort. Malabi-Dzhangi explained that earlier the day, the accused had agreed to burn the bus which transported Modikwa mine workers.
“They proceeded to the Segweka bus station and stood behind the mine workers who were waiting to climb onto the bus. The four then got into the bus whereby Sipho poured petrol while Philemon set the bus alight. They then jumped out, leaving behind the bus engulfed in flames,” Malabi-Dzhangi said.
Of the 50 mine workers on the bus, four men and two woman were burnt to death and 28 were seriously injured.
Read more: 28 miners taken to hospital for burn wounds following Burgersfort bus bombing
In the beginning of the trial, Moime pleaded guilty to all counts and further implicated the accused. He was sentenced to twenty-five years’ imprisonment for each count of murder and 10 years’ imprisonment for each count of attempted murder.
“The state advocate, George Sekhukhune led evidence provided by Moime, police officers whom Moime confessed to, and some of the bus occupants,” Malabi-Dzhangi concluded.
The case was postponed to today, June 30, for sentencing.
