A hitchhiker from Emalahleni (formerly Witbank) who shot and stoned to death a man who gave him and his accomplices a lift in 2019 on the N4 has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Gift Mbola, 27 was sentenced to life on Tuesday by the Pretoria magistrate's court for the premeditated murder of Tumisho Thobela, 38, and 20 years' imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
On September 3 2019, Thobela, who was driving a company car from Emalahleni to Pretoria, gave a lift to three men, Mbola, Phineas Mzimba, 26, and one other accomplice who was never found, who were hiking on the N4.
When they got to the bridge at the Bronkhorspruit off-ramp, they asked Thobela to stop the car.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said when he stopped, Mbola shot Thobela in the head and when they realised he was not dead they stoned him to death, threw his body into a ditch and drove the car to Witbank hostel.
“While the car was at Witbank hostel, the deceased’s manager received an alert from the tracker that the company car was at the hostel. He alerted the police who went to the hostel with the tracker company and retrieved the car. When Mbola and his two accomplices saw the police they fled,” she said.
Hitchhiker who shot, stoned to death man who offered him lift gets life in jail
Image: 123RF/albund
A hitchhiker from Emalahleni (formerly Witbank) who shot and stoned to death a man who gave him and his accomplices a lift in 2019 on the N4 has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Gift Mbola, 27 was sentenced to life on Tuesday by the Pretoria magistrate's court for the premeditated murder of Tumisho Thobela, 38, and 20 years' imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
On September 3 2019, Thobela, who was driving a company car from Emalahleni to Pretoria, gave a lift to three men, Mbola, Phineas Mzimba, 26, and one other accomplice who was never found, who were hiking on the N4.
When they got to the bridge at the Bronkhorspruit off-ramp, they asked Thobela to stop the car.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said when he stopped, Mbola shot Thobela in the head and when they realised he was not dead they stoned him to death, threw his body into a ditch and drove the car to Witbank hostel.
“While the car was at Witbank hostel, the deceased’s manager received an alert from the tracker that the company car was at the hostel. He alerted the police who went to the hostel with the tracker company and retrieved the car. When Mbola and his two accomplices saw the police they fled,” she said.
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Mbola and Mzimba were arrested in Burgersfort a day after the incident.
Mzimba pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment and later turned state witness.
When the trial started, Mbola pleaded not guilty but later admitted the offences when prosecutor Sfiso Hlongwane was to lead the evidence of a fifth witness.
Evidence of four witnesses had been led, including that of Mzimba.
In aggravation of sentence, Hlongwane said Mbola was a danger to society as he killed a person who did not fight back and complied with their demands. He also handed in victim impact statements, where the sister, mother and son of the deceased told how the incident emotionally, mentally and financially affected them.
Handing down the sentence, magistrate Ruby Matlaila agreed Mbola did not show remorse and did not tell the court the reasons he killed Thobela. The court found no substantial and compelling circumstances to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.
Matlaila ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
TimesLIVE
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