Jail sentence for Mugwena’s hitmen

In one of the most strange acts to have happened in a local court, the accused in a conspiracy-to-murder case and the complainant hugged immediately after sentencing. It happened in the Malamulele regional court on Monday.

Vincent Phakula (30) and Moses Ntlenana (29), both from Namakgale, were standing trial for conspiracy to murder a well-known businessman, Mr Goddard Mugwena. They were both found guilty and sentenced to six years' imprisonment, four of which were suspended for five years.

Ntlenana was also convicted of pointing an object that looked like a firearm, which turned out to be a toy gun. He was sentenced to three years on that count, which was wholly suspended for five years.

Immediately after Magistrate J Coetzee had passed the sentence and left, a movie-like drama unfolded as the convicts, Phakula and Ntlenana, reached for Mugwena and they embraced each other. "We are asking for forgivenes for what we did to him, and we are happy he has accepted our remorse. We know we were wrong and now it is time to change," said Phakula.

The trial and subsequent sentencing relates to an incident that happened in 2009 at one of Mugwena's houses in Thohoyandou when the two were hired to kill him.

In sentencing, Magistrate Coetzee described the testimony of witnesses brought by the state as being excellent and named Mugwena as a star witness. He also commended the two accused for being remorseful, as they did not dispute the case as advanced by the state.

He said his decision was also influenced by the fact that Mugwena did not seek revenge and was sympathetic to them.

News - Date: 28 November 2014

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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