The National Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, on Monday, has welcomed the three life sentences handed down to three suspects for killing two police officers.
Last week Friday, the Durban High Court sentenced Sabelo Mkhize (28), Lindokuhle Mchunu (20), and Siboniso Khubisa (22), for murder, attempted murder and kidnapping.
Sergeant Vusimuzi Moyana and Sergeant Ntombikayise Jojisa were lured into an ambush at the Namibia informal settlement at Inanda in 2015 after Mkhize went to the police station and sought assistance from the police to serve a protection order at a house in the area.
When the officers got there, they were disarmed, stripped of their police uniforms, bundled into the back of the police van and the “mastermind” Mkhize drove the van to a secluded spot where they callously shot the officers and left them for dead before attempting to set the van alight. Moyana died at the scene whilst Jojisa survived and was later taken to uMhlanga Hospital, where she recuperated.
Following a manhunt, the trio was arrested shortly afterwards. The matter was transferred to the Hawks’ Organised Crime Investigating Unit for further investigation culminating in the conviction on Friday.
All three suspects have been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for robbery, 5 years for attempted murder and 5 years for kidnapping. Mchunu was further sentenced to 15 years for the theft of his grandfather’s firearm.
Lieutenant General Lebeya has applauded the sterling work done by the investigative and the prosecutorial teams for attaining the lengthy sentences.
“The longevity of the sentences reflects not only the seriousness of the crime against the accused for robbing the state of a foot soldier but also the terror inflicted on both the victims’ families. Whilst Sergeant Moyana paid the ultimate price in defending the rule of law in this country we are saddened to have lost him, his family has essentially been deprived of a breadwinner. We hope the sentence will go a long way in reinforcing the state’s authority and serve as a deterrent to those who disregard the important role vested in law enforcement agencies in this country,” he concluded.
