The Citizen reports that tree men found guilty of the assassination of a 44-year-old detective have been sentenced to life in jail.

The trio, 25-year-old Thando “Flokkie” Mangolwane, 24-year-old Siyabonga “Jacks” Zimela and 29-year-old Siphelo “Spikiri” Bebe appeared in the Bisho High Court in the Eastern Cape on Monday, where the sentence was handed down. Warrant Officer Phumlani Dastile was murdered in Zwelitsha on 23 August 2021 in revenge for the conviction of Bebe for violent crimes committed in 2018. Bebe, the mastermind who was already serving multiple life sentences, orchestrated the hit on Dastile using a cellphone from inside his prison cell.

On the day of the crime, Dastile was ambushed and shot multiple times at close range outside a tavern in Zwelitsha in broad daylight. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the court found the accused’s denials to be inconsistent and improbable against the weight of the evidence.

In aggravation of sentence, the state’s attorney argued that the assassination was a “senseless killing of a police officer simply carrying out his duty”. In addition to the life sentences, Mangolwane and Zimela each received 15 years’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of a semi-automatic firearm and three years for possession of ammunition. These sentences will run concurrently with the life terms.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Faizel Patel at The Citizen
• Lees ook, Swaar vonnis vir drie wat saamsweer om speurder te moor, by Maroela Media

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