A 24-year-old alleged gangster has been sentenced to life imprisonment for brutally hacking and stabbing a man to death.
Sergeant Linkie Lefakane, the Bekkersdal Police spokesperson, said the murder was committed on 19 October last year in the Mandela section of Bekkersdal.
[The victim] was rushed to the Bekkersdal Clinic with multiple injuries, but he died on arrival,” Lefakane said.
Three suspects were arrested for the murder three days after the incident, and the case was put on the court roll. However, the main suspect, Retshedisitswe Maseloa, was still on the run and was only arrested on 27 October, 2015 by detective Constable Thembinkosi Mapoloba. It is believed that Maseloa is a member of the notorious Colombians gang in Bekkersdal.
Maseloa appeared in court shortly after his arrest and was denied bail. He has been in police custody ever since.
After a thorough investigation led by detective Warrant Officer Bernard Makgato, the charges against the other three suspect were withdrawn as evidence was pointing to Maseloa.
On 25 August, 2016 Maseloa was finally found guilty of the murder in the Kagiso High Court and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Bekkersdal Police have long been after gangs in the area and this recent success is not the only one of its kind. On 4 July, in the Johannesburg High Court, Zenzile Sibiya, 22, and Sibusiso Limba, 19, were found guilty of stabbing a 22-year-old man to death on 22 February, 2015. Sibiya got 22 years imprisonment while Limba will spend 15 years in jail.
Read more here:
Young murder suspects arrested
Man wanted for elderly woman’s rape
