Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
28 October 2024
Sifiso Mbowane (23) was sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional 55 years by the High Court of South Africa, Mpumalanga Division, today, 28 October 2024 for a series of violent crimes committed in Shatale and Belfast in the Bushbuckridge district in 2023.
Mbowane, who pleaded guilty to all six charges, was convicted on multiple counts, including three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, malicious injury to property, murder, and housebreaking with intent to rob. These crimes occurred on separate occasions.
The court heard that before committing these offences, Mbowane had obtained a firearm. On the evening of 29 July 2023, he and an accomplice confronted a victim seated in a car near Hlamalani Trust, Bushbuckridge. Armed with a firearm, they robbed the victim of his vehicle and other belongings.
The victim and his friends fled the scene, returning later to find the vehicle heavily damaged.
In a second incident, on 05 September 2023, Mbowane, armed again, robbed the Puma Filling Station in Belfast.
He intimidated employees, stole R1,000.00, and fatally shot a petrol attendant, Nicolus Mashego. He then proceeded to Swift Filling Station, where he forcibly broke in, stole cash, and fled. Following these crimes, Mbowane returned the firearm to its seller and was arrested three days later.
During the sentencing proceedings, Mbowane’s legal representative argued in mitigation that he had committed these offences due to educational struggles and dropping out of school.
However, Advocate Mlungisi Mangwanyana, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, countered that the guilty plea did not reflect genuine remorse, emphasizing Mbowane’s calculated crime spree. A victim impact statement prepared by the deceased’s brother and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Nomfundo Mokoena conveyed the profound personal loss experienced due to Mashego’s death.
In her sentencing remarks, Judge Sheila Msibi underscored the severe nature of Mbowane’s crimes and their impact on local businesses and the economy.
Finding no substantial or compelling reasons to deviate from minimum sentencing guidelines, she imposed the following sentences: 15 years imprisonment for each count of robbery with aggravating circumstances, life imprisonment for murder, eight years for housebreaking with intent to rob, and two years for malicious injury to property. Mbowane was also declared unfit to possess a firearm. His application for leave to appeal the sentence was dismissed following the state’s objection.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomes the sentence, reaffirming its commitment to protecting human life and pursuing justice for victims.
This case serves as a powerful deterrent against violent crime in our communities.
