POLOKWANE – The Polokwane High Court has handed life sentences to two men convicted of kidnapping, murder, and defeating the ends of justice following the murder of 28-year-old Refiloe Gift Malope in May 2022.

The accused were identified as Thabo Moses Mokwana (43), a police sergeant stationed at Benoni Police Station, and Modirela Maxwell Mokwena (45).

The court heard that in May 2022, the two forced Malope into the boot of a sedan at Kgaphamadi village.

The case was transferred to the Provincial Organised Crime Unit and assigned to Sergeant Florence Concilia Tlhatlha for further investigation.

Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba says that following an intelligence-driven operation by the Limpopo Tracking Team, Provincial Organised Crime Unit, and Hlogotlou Detectives, the two men were arrested in June 2022.

“Mokwana was apprehended at work on 21 June, and Mokwana was arrested the following day at a hideout in the Apel policing precinct. Malope’s body was later discovered dumped in an unused mine shaft in Benoni, Gauteng.”

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe welcomed the life sentences, praising the investigating officer and all law enforcement members involved for ensuring justice was served.