KINROSS – The murderer of Mr Jabulani Mazibuko (36) from Kinross was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday, 13 August.
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court which was sitting in Delmas meted out the direct prison sentence to Lucas Tsietsi Nkoana (38).
Nkoana was part of a gang that attacked Mr Mazibuko and his wife in Kinross on 18 February 2018.
The four gunmen hijacked the couple when they arrived at their home in Kinross. Mr Mazibuko was shot dead and his wife was kidnapped. She was later dumped off in Ivory Park in Gauteng where passersby came to her aid and alerted the police.
Brig Leonard Hlathi, spokesman for the Mpumalanga Police, said an investigation team, with the help of a tracking company, tracked down and arrested Nkoana.
“Nkoana was identified as the mastermind behind the whole incident and was further found in possession of the murder weapon loaded with ammunition.
“The police also learned that immediately after the murder of Mazibuko, one of the suspects became embroiled in a shootout with police in Gauteng where he was fatally shot. The other two suspects are still at large,” said Brig Hlathi.
Not only was Nkoana sent to jail for life for murder, he also got 15 years for armed robbery, seven years for kidnapping, five years for being in the possession of an unlicensed firearm five years for being in the illegal possession of ammunition.
These sentences will run concurrently with the life sentence.
The provincial commissioner, Lieut-Gen Mondli Zuma, welcomed the sentence.
He also commended the partnership between Tracker and the police which always bears positive feedback.
“We value stakeholder relations which can never be underestimated as it often yields desired results like in this case. We also believe that this sentence will serve as a deterrent to other criminals that crime does not pay, “said Gen Zuma.
