A ZIMBABWEAN, who murdered a woman he was robbing, was last week jailed for life by the Pretoria North Magistrates’ Court while his fellow countryman and accomplice will serve an effective 12-year jail term for his role in the robbery.
Norest Singage (34) will serve an additional 27 years imprisonment for two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The court ordered that these sentences should run concurrently.
The accomplice, Rodwin Maphinde (34), was jailed for 12 years imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Additionally, both offenders have been declared unfit to possess firearms.
Both had pleaded not guilty.
The court last week heard that on August 26, 2020, the first victim was accosted by a group of men while praying on the R80 Mabopane Highway.
He was robbed of his cellphone and bank cards.
- Biti assault case : recusal application ruling date set
- Dembo’s music lives on
- Biti assault case : recusal application ruling date set
- Ex-DPC boss charged for ‘looting’ spree
Keep Reading
On September 2020, the same year, the second victim, along with his wife and children, stopped along the same highway and were approached by the two who took them to a nearby mountain where tragedy struck.
Singage took the now deceased woman further into the mountain and shot and killed her.
The husband escaped and promptly reported the incident to the police who after a thorough investigation arrested Singage and Maphinde on October 24, 2020 in Marabastard, where the former was a vendor.
Throughout trial, Singage and Maphinde pleaded not guilty to the charges, denying involvement but prosecutor Lebogang Mokome proved her case beyond reasonable doubt.
During sentencing the accused, through their legal representative, sought leniency, citing their responsibilities to their minor children and requested consideration of the time they had been in custody since their arrest.
Mokome argued against leniency, emphasising the premeditated nature of the crimes, as the accused had deliberately targeted unsuspecting victims.
“The deceased brutally lost her life, and the husband lost his wife while the children lost their mother,” Mokome stated.
She further highlighted the prevalence of violent crime in the country and urged the court to impose prescribed minimum sentences.
Magistrate Motiang noted that the two showed no remorse for their actions.
“There was no need for the deceased to lose her life as both were co-operating with the instructions they gave during the incident,” he remarked.
He reaffirmed the community’s growing frustration with violent crime, stating, “It is up to the courts to protect the community against such offences.”
While he saw grounds to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence for the first count of robbery because the complainant sustained no injuries, he found no compelling circumstances to do so for the murder charge and the second count of robbery.
South Africa’s National Prosecuting Authority said it welcomed the sentencing, reiterating its commitment to holding offenders accountable and enhancement of public safety in South African communities.
