A 23-Year-Old Man Sentenced to an Effective 19 Years’ Imprisonment for Two Counts of Murder and Theft
The Provincial Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Jan Scheepers, has welcomed the effective 19-year imprisonment sentence handed down to 23-year-old Makola Mahlatsi Noah, by the Polokwane High Court on Wednesday.
The court noted that Khomotso Matenche (17) was reported missing on 21 April 2019.
According to information provided by her family, Khomotso informed her father that she was going to Ga-Riba Village to visit her sister-in-law.
She was later accompanied to a taxi but never returned home.
Her family subsequently made enquiries with relatives and people known to her but could not establish her whereabouts.
The matter was subsequently reported to the police.
Gloria Mashabela (19) was reported missing on 17 February 2023. According to her mother, she received a call from the person residing with her daughter, informing her that her daughter had left without indicating where she was going and never returned.
The family became concerned about her whereabouts and sought assistance from the police to locate her.
The intensive investigation conducted by the police subsequently led to the accused, who was arrested by members of the Provincial Missing Persons Unit on 20 April 2023,in connection with the disappearance of the two young women.
The investigations into both incidents were conducted by Sergeant Sifiso Simelane of the Provincial Missing Persons Unit, who diligently followed up on information and pursued various leads in an effort to locate the missing women and establish the circumstances surrounding their disappearance.
The accused remained in custody while the matter proceeded through the courts and eventually appeared before the Polokwane High Court, where he was convicted and sentenced on 09 September 2026.
Matenche was sentenced to 23 years’ imprisonment, of which four years were suspended for five years on condition that the accused is not convicted of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances or theft committed during the period of suspension.
He was also sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
The court ordered that the sentences on Counts 2 and 3 run concurrently with the sentence on Count 1, resulting in an effective sentence of 19 years’ imprisonment.
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