Three men guilty of killing two Kraaifontein police officers were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Western Cape High Court.
|||Cape Town - Three men guilty of killing two Kraaifontein police officers were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday, police said.
The men showed no emotion when Judge Elizabeth Baartman delivered her sentence in the packed courtroom, said Captain Frederick van Wyk.
Khangelani Thukela Twala was given two life sentences and 65 years. His co-accused Sivuyile Sangovana and Olwethu Sothondoshe received two life sentences each plus 45 years.
Their accomplice Sibusiso Mehlo was sentenced to 20 years.
“Warrant Officer Gershwin Matthee and Constable Cannon Cloete were shot dead and robbed of their service pistols on May 2011 in Boesak Street,” said Van Wyk.
The men also faced charges of shooting and wounding a motorist and a shopkeeper in two other incidents.
Provincial commissioner, Lt-Gen Arno Lamoer, welcomed the sentence.
It would send a clear message to other criminals about the dangers of attacking and killing police officers.
“All those responsible for the recent killings of our police officers in the province will be found and brought to justice,” Lamoer said.
Sapa