Cape Town - The Mpumalanga High Court has sentenced Hlabirwa Rassie Nkuna to life in prison for killing his girlfriend and her police sergeant sister.
Nkuna, 37, was handed two life terms on Thursday after the court found him guilty of two counts of premeditated murder.
“Nkune was in a love relationship with Pretty Mazibuko, 46, and the other victim was a police officer, Sergeant Marcia Mazibuko, 41,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said.
Nyuswa said that Nkuna was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder, however, the State withdrew attempted murder charges against him.
“On May 15, 2022, the accused went to Mazibuko’s homestead in KaNyamazane, and an altercation about infidelity ensued. The accused left the house and came back later, armed with a firearm.
“He started shooting at his girlfriend Pretty, who ran to the accused’s vehicle and attempted to reverse out of the yard.
“The car got stuck in a heap of soil and Nkuna followed her and continued shooting. Then a vehicle with two occupants passed by and offered to help, and Nkuna started shooting at them, but they escaped unharmed,” Nyuswa said.
She said that Nkuna then returned to the house, where he chased down Marcia and shot her. The victims succumbed to gunshot wounds on the way to the local clinic.
“The accused fled the scene and was arrested in August 2022 for a murder case which happened in Sundra, Mpumalanga,” Nyuswa said.
The accused had allegedly pleaded guilty to the murder of Hillary Gardee, daughter of former EFF secretary-general Godrich Gardee.
She said that in court the accused pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, however, the State rejected his plea on another count since his plea was not consistent with the facts at the State’s disposal.
“The court found the state witness credible, and the accused was convicted on two counts of premeditated murder.
“During the aggravation of sentence, advocate Zwelethu Mata presented a victim impact statement compiled by court preparation officer Nomfundo Mokoena. In that statement, the mother of the two deceased indicated that she feels hatred for the person who killed her children and is normally scared, anxious and pained whenever she is in court,” Nyuswa said.
In sentencing the accused, Judge Takalani Vincent Ratshibvumo pronounced that word must go out to the entire Mbombela community that the court will not tolerate or treat with kid gloves the perpetrators of crimes against women in our society.
“Accordingly, the judge sentenced Nkune to two life terms of imprisonment and declared him unfit to possess a firearm,’’ Nyuswa said.
Nyuswa added that the NPA welcomed the sentence and applauded the good work done by the prosecution and the police in ensuring that justice was served.
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