The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court, sitting in Breyten, sentenced Themba Solomon Mhlongo (27) and Fanyana June Mthembu (33) on Thursday, 1 April as follows: Mhlongo to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and three years for kidnapping with sentencing running concurrently; Mthembu to five years for possession of stolen property.
The deceased, Mr Sithelwesihle Mathenjwa (37), was a community project manager at Lekwa Municipality.
His family reported him missing and police opened a file on 20 November 2017.
A subsequent search party proved unsuccessful.
His vehicle was spotted in Standerton on 25 November 2017 and police arrested Mhlongo and Mthembu after they could not explain why they were driving his vehicle.
The accused finally confessed to his kidnapping and murder.
They also pointed out the exact spot where the body was buried.
The charges, in this case, were apart from murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances as well as possession of stolen property.
The court also ruled Mhlongo unfit to possess a firearm.
Two other men allegedly involved in the kidnapping were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
