Magna Via murder: Two life sentences for mastermind husband
Evidence in court revealed that the motive for the killing was marital issues which resulted in Stanley Thabo Leshabane arranging the hit on his wife in 2020.
POLOKWANE – Almost four years after the gruesome murder of Makoena Mabusela Leshabane (46) and Tebogo Mphuthi (34) in Magna Via on October 10, 2020, Thabo Leshabane and his co-accused were all sentenced to two life sentences for their roles in the crime.
Sentencing occurred in the Limpopo High Court: Polokwane Division on Friday, August 16 where Judge Gerrit Muller accepted that the evidence of the state proved the guilt of all the accused beyond reasonable doubt and found all the accused guilty of two counts of murder.
Read more: Husband found guilty of orchestrating Magna Via double murder
Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said Thabo Leshabane (62), Ndondo Buthelezi (32), Thembelani Dhlamini (37), and Sfiso Phiyose (40) will serve two life sentences each while Buthelezi received an additional three-year sentence for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
One suspect, Richard Zulu, died in custody.
“The victims, Chartered Accountant Makoena Mabusela-Leshabane and her business partner Tebogo Mphuti were shot dead while sitting in a Mercedes-Benz in the Polokwane industrial area by hit men hired by Makoena’s husband, Thabo Leshabane. Two cases of murder were registered at the Polokwane Police Station and then transferred to the Provincial Tracking Team,” Ledwaba said.
“On October 21, 2020, they made a breakthrough in arresting five suspects, including the husband of the deceased,” he added.
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During the trial, the state-led evidence of several witnesses including two people who told the court how they observed three African men approaching the Mercedes-Benz and firing several shots at the women. A fourth male person remained in a maroon vehicle, which was used as a getaway car by the accused.
Read more: Magna Via double murder: Husband among 5 men accused
“The state was able to prove its case as they had overwhelming evidence that implicated the accused. Leshabane and his co-accused also made confessions. The evidence further revealed that the motive for the killing was marital issues and an expressed desire by Makoena to end the marriage which resulted in her husband arranging a hit,” Ledwaba said.
The court rejected the versions of all the accused and found their versions not to be reasonable and possibly true.
“This was beside Leshabane’s claim that their marriage was healthy, which the court equally rejected as not reasonably, possibly true.”
The provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe commended the detectives team led by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Boshomane for demonstrating meticulous investigation skills.
