A 29-year-old man has been given three life sentences by the Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu-Natal on three counts of murder. The man also received 15 years for robbery, 15 years for the unlawful possession of a firearm and three years for unlawful possession of ammunition.
Police spokesperson Nqobile Gwala says the man was arrested in possession of the firearm that was used to kill the victims on the same day of the crimes.
Gwala says one co-accused will appear before the same court on the 10th May for trial.
“His sentence follows an incident that took place on 18 April 2019 just after midnight, where Arnold Cassim was in his tuckshop at Copesville when he was attacked by three unknown armed males at gunpoint. They took cash, cigarettes, airtime vouchers and cellphones. The victim was shot multiple times on the body and was declared dead at the scene. There was a woman that was in the vicinity and was also fatally wounded by the armed robbers who fled the scene on foot. The woman was identified as Rorisang Makoetje. Charges of murder and robbery were opened for investigation at Mountain Rise SAPS. On the same day, the same robbers proceeded to Swapo to assassinate a woman that witnessed the incident. Alina Tsiko was fatally shot in the head. Another murder case was opened.”
