'Kill my dad and I will give you his car'

The Johannesburg High Court has sentenced four men to life imprisonment for murdering the father of one of the accused. 

The men were also sentenced to multiple years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstance, illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition and attempted murder.

“Brutus Mhlanga conspired with Ntsheula Caswell, Hloniphani Ntombela and Patrick Ziqubu to kill his father. Mhlanga offered his father's car as down payment to the trio and promised them a balance of R150,000 after getting his inheritance,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane.

Caswell was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 45 years, Ntombela and Mhlanga to life imprisonment plus 51 years, and Ziqubu to life imprisonment plus 63 years.

“They were arrested when the police officer received information about Ntsheula, who was in possession of a firearm without a licence. Upon searching Ntsheula’s home, they found one round of ammunition. When asked by the police where the firearm was, he informed them that Ntombela had it.

“They went to Ntombela’s home and searched, but no firearm was found. Ntombela informed the police that he had another house which they could search. Upon arrival at this other property, they found a Toyota Hilux parked in the driveway. When police checked the vehicle on the system, they found that it was reported stolen and the owner was killed,” Mjonondwane said.

“According to Ntsheula, they conspired to kill the deceased in August 2017 and the incident occurred on 11 December 2017. The reason for having his father killed was that he refused to be reprimanded for smoking nyaope and using other substances,” said Mjonondwane.

“The NPA commends the persistent work by police officers to solve this senseless crime, as well as the commitment and dedication displayed by the prosecutor in securing a successful prosecution.”