Rustenburg – A 29-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, in the North West High Court sitting in Klerksdorp on Tuesday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.
Thabo Thakampana was sentenced for killing David Mahlapa Sekhola.
NPA spokesperson in the North West division, Henry Mamothame, said Thakampana was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years in each of the charges of robbery with aggravating circumstances, five years for kidnapping, seven years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and three years for possession of ammunition.
“The sentence will run concurrently and was further declared unfit to possess a firearm,” he said.
Thakamphana was charged together with Katleho Ramuthalane, 33, for murder and kidnapping.
Ramuthalane pleaded guilty to robbery with aggravating circumstances and kidnapping, he was sentenced to 15 -years imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances that offence and a further five years for kidnapping.
"The court further declared him unfit to possess a firearm. The two sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The court also ordered that the one year-eleven-months he stayed in police custody while awaiting trial, be factored into his jail term," Mamothame said.
Thakampana pleaded not guilty to all charges and his trial was separated from Ramuthalane
He said on April 14 in 2019, Thakampana, Ramuthalane and a third man who was still on the run, were allegedly drinking at a tavern, in Kanana township, when they decided to go and drink in town in Klerksdorp.
“They then approached David Mahlapa Sekhola, who operated a public transport service in the area, and agreed to take them to town for R150.
“Sekhola was with two friends at the time, Mthakathi January Vicane and Fezile Kraai.
“Along the way, the three decided to disembark near Vaal Maseru bus depot.”
He said Ramuthalane in his confession statement, stated that that upon stopping the vehicle, Thakamphana shot Sekhola in the head, and the three started to rob the driver and his friend.
They took their belongings, which included his Kingdom of Lesotho driving licence, keys, wallet with cash, USB sticks and a cellphone.
Ramuthalane further confessed that he removed Sekhola from the vehicle and kidnapped his friends and drove off to an unknown location.
The two kidnapped occupants then managed to escape.
They then ran back to where Sekhola was offloaded and found the police at the scene.
They subsequently reported the incident and a search was conducted.
The vehicle was traced through its tracking device, to a house in Bophelong location in Vanderbilt Park.
Thakampana was arrested while Ramuthalane and the third man managed to outrun the police but Ramuthalane was arrested in Kanana township the following day.
“In aggravation of sentence, advocate Benny Kalakgosi urged the court not to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence, equalling life imprisonment.
“Judge André Pietersen indicated that the courts have a responsibility to promote respect for the law, through appropriate sentencing.
“He described Thakampana as a remorseless individual, whose nefarious action brought enormous devastation to the family of the deceased, as well as the two surviving victims,” Mamothame
IOL