| 2024/10/21 |
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Media Statement KOPANONG – Two men were sentenced to a total of 99 years’ imprisonment for murdering a man and assaulting his friend in June 2021 in the Kopanong area. On 07 June 2021 at about 06:00, police in Kopanong received a call about a male body found near a church in Turflaagte. Preliminary investigations established that the body was having multiple stab wounds and a wire was also found on the deceased’s neck and wrapped with a red cloth. The body was identified as that of 28-year-old Itumeleng Lekgari. Kopanong police opened a case of murder for investigation. The case was transferred to Kopanong Detective Services and handed over to Sergeant Sechaba Matli, who immediately launched his investigation on the matter. Information led him to a house nearby, where a wheelbarrow was found with blood stains. The house owner was questioned, but he mentioned that the blood is that of a pig they have slaughtered the previous day. The DNA was taken, and while working together with the National Prosecuting Authority, Prosecutor Amanda Bester, the results came back matching those of Mr Thami Oliphant, who is the owner of the wheelbarrow. He was arrested in July 2023, charged with kidnapping, robbery aggravating and murder. The second suspect, Thabiso Elson, was arrested, but he passed away in October 2023. The third suspect, Themba Fete, who was on the run from June 2021, was arrested on 29 October 2023. He was also convicted on the following charges: kidnapping, robbery, aggravating, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and murder. During the trail, it was found that the victim and his friend were walking around Khotsong, where they were accosted, forced, and pushed to a house belonging to one of the accused, Thami Oliphant. The two were robbed of an amount of R50 and the drugs that they have bought earlier in Khotsong. They were instructed to undress and enter one room where the suspects started stabbing them while on the bed. They were placed under a couch and burned with hot water. The victims were assaulted with home-made pangas and the deceased was strangled with a cell phone charging cord. This incident happened from the afternoon of 06 June 2021 to the early hours of 07 June 2021. The victim died at the scene and his friend, who escaped the incident with injuries, was instructed to clean the blood and he was escorted to dispose the body of his friend near a church using the wheelbarrow. The two of the three remaining accused were sentenced as follows: Thami Johannes Oliphant (30): He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for kidnapping, 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery aggravating, three years’ for assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm and 18 years’ for murder. Themba Machael (Mazibuko) Fete (30): He was sentenced to five years’ for kidnapping, 15 years’ for robbery aggravating, 15 years’ for assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and life imprisonment for murder. They were sentenced by the Bloemfontein High Court. Ends
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