A 41-year-old man from the Free State was sentenced to double life in prison after being on the run from police for more than 15 years.
Thapelo Samuel Mokoena (41) from Makwane Village in QwaQwa was arrested with three others in 2004 for the murder of Johanna van Niekerk (79) and her gardener Tololo Tsholo (43) at Dankbaarheid Farm District in Bethlehem.
Free State police spokesperson Thandi Mbambo said they also attacked two domestic workers, one of whom was shot in the hip.
According to Mbambo, Mokoena escaped from police custody in July 2005 while his other accomplices were found guilty and sentenced.
He was listed in the top 50 most wanted suspects nationally and top 30 in the Free State.
“His escapade was brought to a halt in August last year when Detective Warrant Officer Nkosana Radebe pounced on him and ensured that he answered for his crimes,” Mbambo explained.
She said Mokoena was found settled with a new life, in a different province almost 300km away from where he commissioned the crime. He was found in Carletonville, where he was employed at a local mine and staying with his family.
On Wednesday he was sentenced to two life imprisonment terms for the two murders and 10 years each for two attempted murders. The sentences will run concurrently and he will serve two life sentences.
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