A Free State High Court judge has cracked the whip on an offender, imposing a combined 70-year sentence for murdering a police officer.
Judge Lani Opperman sentenced Thembelani Sidwell Ngaleka (31) to life imprisonment, translating to 25 years.
He was convicted for killing Const. Ofentse Odirile Katlego Mokgadinyane.
Ngaleka was sentenced on 22 April for murder committed during an armed robbery on 12 October 2020. He was also sentenced to an added 15 years for housebreaking with the intent to rob and robbery, 15 years for the possession of a semi-automatic firearm without a licence and another 15 years for the unlawful possession of ammunition.
Mokgadinyane, attached to Bloemfontein Crime Intelligence, was killed in the presence of his wife and 8-month-old baby at his house in Bergman Square, Bloemfontein.
Phaladi Shuping, provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecution Authority (NPA), said Ngaleka was busted hours later after the police had found incriminating evidence in his possession: a firearm, laptop and wallet with Mokgadinyane’s police identification card.
The robbers had been wearing balaclavas and were armed with a steel object and a gun. Ngaleka was positively identified through items discovered in his possession. Shuping said the state acquitted Thabang Komane and Thabiso Polyenyne. The judge believed there was insufficient evidence that linked them to the crime.
“Mokgadinyane went to investigate after hearing a sound coming from the kitchen. He was shot twice by the robbers,” said Shuping.
He said the decision for a harsh sentence was informed by aggravating circumstances and further by victim impact statements made by the officer’s wife and mother.
The State Prosecutor, Advocate Tholoana Sekhonyane presented the victim impact statements. The accused was a repeated offender who was convicted for malicious damage to property.
“The accused did not show remorse,” said Sekhonyane.
“He spent 18 months in prison, yet he failed to use that time to think about his actions. He came to court and refused to take responsibility for his actions as he painted state witnesses as liars. He forced the wife of the deceased to relive the traumatic incident by coming to testify.
“It had been unnecessary to shoot him (Mokgadinyane). They were wearing balaclavas so they could not be identified.”
Opperman ordered that the sentences run concurrently, adding that Ngakale had failed to advance any substantial and compelling circumstances for lesser sentencing.
