Limpopo – A former police officer, Thabo Moses Mokwana (42) and his cousin, Modirela Maxwell Mokwana (45) of Motsephiri Village, have been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Polokwane High Court for the murder, seven years of which is for kidnapping and three years’ imprisonment for defeating the ends of justice.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently with the count of murder, and the effective sentence to be served is life imprisonment.
The court also declared the Mokwana cousins unfit to possess firearms in terms of Section 103 of the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000.
The convicted duo had pleaded not guilty to the charges put to them by the court. The state led evidence of witnesses who testified that on the 9th of May 2022, the Mokwana cousins forced the deceased, Refilwe Gift Malope, into a motor vehicle and drove off with her. The deceased, Malope, was then reported missing, and a search was conducted that led to her being found dead in a mine shaft at Benoni, in the Gauteng province, and her body had already decomposed. The accused were arrested and detained in custody until their trial commenced.
In aggravation of sentence, the state advocate Patrick Magoda submitted the Victim Impact Statement (VIS) of the family members of the deceased. The VIS was compiled by court preparation officer Morongwe Moifo.
The family indicated the psychological impact that the death of their loved one had on them, especially because the deceased was killed by the people she knew and trusted.
The deceased worked tirelessly to ensure that the members of the LGBTQ+ community were treated with dignity, integrity, and fairness.
The state further submitted that the accused violated the right of the deceased to live and deserved to be permanently removed from society. That one of two convicted cousins was a police officer grieved the family even more, as his duty was to combat crime rather than perpetrating it.
The National Prosecuting Authority daily prosecutes hundreds of such matters that affect the safety and well-being of our communities and ensure justice for victims of crime.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Adv. Ivy Thenga commended the diligent work done by advocate Magoda and investigating officer, Florence Hlahla, from the Provincial Organized Crime Unit.
