The High Court in Polokwane has sentenced 20-year-old Zimbabwean national Tinashe Mapuweyi and Risca Malatji, 29, from Matshelapata in Limpopo to life imprisonment after they were convicted for the brutal murder of security guard Masenyani Daniel Khosa, 68.
The killers also got an additional 15-year imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances. The court also further sentenced Mapuweyi for being an illegal immigrant in South Africa.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson in Limpopo, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said the court ordered that the sentence in count two and three run concurrently with count one, of murder.
In court, Mapuweyi and Malatji had pleaded not guilty, before they were convicted.
“The State-led witnesses testified that on September 10 2021, the deceased Masenyani Daniel Khosa was on duty as a security guard at Dinoko general dealer. During the night, the accused cut the fence and entered into the yard. They then tied him up, assaulted and robbed him of window frames,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.
The assailants placed concrete lintels on top of the security guard, and left him to die.
Khosa’s body was discovered by his colleagues the following day.
“When aggravating the sentence, State advocate Julias Legodi submitted that the deceased was an old man, aged 68, who was supposed to be on pension, enjoying life with his family. However, due to the economic hardship of his family, he had to continue working as a security officer and that is where he met the demise that took his life,” said Malabi-Dzhangi.
The State further submitted that the killers are young people who could be at the age of Khosa’s children or his grandchildren.
The State concluded by submitting that Khosa died a painful death, while both his hands and legs were tied up and a heavy load was put on top of him to ensure that he would not survive the ordeal.
In sentencing the killers, Acting Judge Ephraim Makgoba remarked that the elderly man, Khosa, met a brutal death because of the greed of Mapuweyi and Malatji.
Meanwhile, the NPA in Limpopo has welcomed the sentencing of the duo.
Provincial Director of Public Prosecutions, advocate Ivy Thenga said she hopes the stiff sentence handed to Mapuweyi and Malatji will serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.
Thenga has applauded the prosecution team led by Legodi and the investigating officer, only identified as Ndlovu, from Lulekani police station.
IOL