Life behind bars for Mtubatuba convicted cop killer
Handing down the sentence, the judge said these offences 'are very serious'
MTUBATUBA High Court last week sentenced convicted rapist and cop killer Phumokwakhe Lucky-Tu Ndwandwe to life in prison for the 2019 murder of on-duty police officer Sakhile Nsibande.
Ndwandwe (24) was sentenced to 15 years for count one in the indictment, rape; 15 years for count two, robbery with aggravating circumstances of his rape victim; 15 years for count three, the robbery of a 9mm pistol on 12 November 2019 from former SANDF member Raymond Mthethwa; and 15 years for counts five and six, the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
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The presiding officer in the matter said the ‘element of mercy’ in the sentences handed down to Ndwandwe is that the jail terms for counts 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 will run concurrently with the life behind bars sentence for count four, the murder of Nsibande.
Handing down the sentence, the judge said these offences ‘are very serious’.
The judge said the court had considered Ndwandwe’s age; submissions that he could be rehabilitated; was a first-time offender; his age when the crimes were committed; that he was raised in an abusive home; and that he has been in custody since his 2019 arrest.
The judge added that the court also considered the evidence given by Ndwandwe’s alleged victims as well as that of Nsibande’s brother.
He said this evidence had been about the trauma suffered by the victims and exposed the ‘permanent scars’ left by Ndwandwe.
The judge said it was important to note that the majority of people in society cannot afford private security and so depend on law enforcement agencies for their protection, so by robbing a former soldier and murdering a cop,
Ndwandwe had effectively told society that ‘they must think again’ that members of law enforcement agencies could protect them.
“If military-trained people are not safe from the accused, what is the fate of ordinary people?” questioned the judge.
He said, while the court sympathises with Ndwandwe’s history of being raised in an abusive home, it was also cognizant that ‘there are many other people who grew up in such conditions but did not turn to crime’.
The judge said Ndwandwe had not shown any remorse.
Ndwandwe’s legal representative filed an application for leave to appeal the conviction and sentence, which was declined.
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