Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC, Pat Ngomane, welcomed the sentencing of Alexander Mohoebi, a Lesotho national, who murdered a traffic officer in 2016.
The Pretoria High Court sitting in the Delmas Magistrate’s Court sentenced Mohoebi on 8 April to life imprisonment for the murder of Bongani Nkumba who was a traffic officer in Mpumalanga for the department.
Mr Ngomane said this sentence will serve as a deterrent to all those who intimidate and assault traffic officers when they do their work.
He thanked the Department of Justice and the officers who were doing investigations for the sterling job since the beginning.
Nkumba’s murder took place on 5 August 2016 when he was performing his duties in Meyerville on the Vrede Road.
He observed a black Jeep that stopped in the non-stopping area and approached the driver and requested him to produce his driving licence.
He then informed the driver that he is going to issue a ticket for him and thereafter he will take him for alcohol testing.
Nkumba then requested the suspect to go with him to the state vehicle so that he could give him a ticket.
The suspect requested the traffic officer’s permission to go to his vehicle to collect his phone.
Eyewitnesses said they heard several gunshots and saw Mohoebi running back to his Jeep, driving away at high speed.
The police were summoned and followed the Jeep which was recovered at the Maseru Border Post where Mohoebi and the two people he was with at the time were arrested.
The suspects appeared in court several times and the other two were acquitted.
Mohoebi remained in custody. He was charged with four counts namely; murder, robbery with aggravated circumstances, possession of illegal firearm and possession of ammunition.
He pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced with one life imprisonment for the murder and one life sentence for robbery as well as two years and one year for possession of illegal firearm and ammunition respectively by Judge Brian Mashile, following a number of postponements.
The sentences will run concurrently.
Judge Mashile said during his ruling that this sentencing should serve as a warning to communities that no one is above the law.
He said that Nkumba was a breadwinner in his family and a family man who worked with dedication for the safety of the province saying that Mohoebi deserves any kind of punishment imposed to him.
Through his Legal Counsel, Mohoebi apologised to the Nkumba family. “We are happy that justice has been served and the law did not fail us,” a sister to the deceased, said.
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