Two men arrested after four men allegedly stripped naked, severely sjamboked

Police in Polokwane have arrested two suspects for three counts of murder and assault GBH after four men were allegedly stripped naked and severely sjamboked in Polokwane on 14 February.

This after they were accused by a group of vigilantes of robbery.

According to Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, one of the victims succumbed to the injuries soon after he was admitted in hospital.

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The second victim died four days after incident, while the third victim after nine days.

The deceased have been identified as Maropeng Reabetswe Moriti, 27, Lemmy Marisa, 30, and Bruce Mzanda, 31.

Police launched an investigation following a video showing the four naked men that were severely assaulted went viral on social media.

The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe welcomed the arrest of the suspects.

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“This will send a clear message to other vigilante groups that the Police are determined to act against anyone who takes the law into their own hands,” said Hadebe.

The suspects appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.

Life sentence for murder

In a separate incident, 59-year-old Moses Jabulane Gama was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Chief Albert Luthuli Regional Court on 01 March 2023, for the murder of Nurse Zanele Nhlebeya, who was also known as Ntombanyana Nkosi, 42, at the time of her death.

According to Brigadier Selvy Mohlala, Gama shot and killed the mother of his two children (aged 09 and 12 at the time of the incident) on 12 March 2019 at her friend’s place.

After the incident, the accused went to Elukwatini police station to hand himself over. He was then charged for murder and made several court appearances from 13 March 2019 until he was granted bail.

The accused used his bail as an opportunity to evade the follow up court appearances as he never showed up in court again.

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The investigation team finally managed to track him down in Mofolo North in Soweto in the Gauteng Province on 30 December 2022.

He was convicted on Wednesday, 22 February 2023.

Apart from life time in jail, he was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The Acting Provincial Commissioner of Mpumalanga, Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi commended the outstanding performance by the team of investigators, the prosecution team as well as the judiciary.