The High Court of South Africa, North West Division sentenced Lukhanyo Mnembe (42) to 25 years for the murder of Thamsanqa Phoofolo (30) and 10 years on each of the two counts of pointing a firearm. The court ordered for the sentence to run concurrently and Mnembe was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
According to Henry Mamothame, NPA Regional Spokesperson (North West Division), Mnembe was convicted following an incident that occurred on the night of 04 April 2019 in Ikageng at a tavern he and his wife owned, wherein a tavern that he and his wife owned and valuable items were stolen.
“Evidence led in court revealed that following the break-in, Mnembe received a tip-off from an unknown source that the deceased was one the people that broke into his tavern,” Mamothame confirms. He arrived at the deceased’s home on 5 April 2019 carrying a gun and an axe and ordered him out of his shack. When the deceased refused to come out, the accused broke in and began assaulting him. The deceased’s mother, brother and his sister’s two-months-old baby were inside the house and upon hearing the commotion from outside, they went to intervene but the accused threatened them by pointing a firearm.
Further evidence revealed that the accused fired one gunshot in the shack and the deceased escaped into the house and Mnembe followed him. After a plea for Mnembe not to shoot the deceased in front of the baby, two more shots were fired and Phoofolo died on the scene.
The state prosecutor, Adv Benny Kalakgosi, argued that the accused was a police officer who failed to report the matter to the police and instead took the law into his own hands.
He further argued that the family is still suffering from the trauma of being pointed at with a firearm and to also experience their loved one murdered in their presence. Judge Eulenda Mahlangu agreed with the state and further indicated that the accused should have known as a law enforcer that vigilantism is a scourge that law enforcement is always encouraging members of society not to practice.
The Director of Public Prosecutions in North West, Dr Rachel Makhari- Sekhaolelo lauded the prosecutor and the investigation team from the SAPS for their hard work. “We discharge our duties of bringing justice without fear, favour or prejudice even when perpetrators are within our ranks”, she remarked.
