Pretoria - Two years after a Limpopo man was found guilty for murdering his ex fiancée at a shopping complex, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Polokwane High Court this week.
Kibi Josias Leboho, 36, was arrested in May 2021 after spraying with bullets the car where his ex, Tshepo Rakoma, then 32, was sitting having lunch at a parking area of a shopping complex in Polokwane.
The bank employee and mother of three children was killed in her car during her lunch break, sparking a public outcry and bringing into the spotlight the issue of gender-based violence (GBV).
Leboho then attempted to die by suicide, climbing up the complex building in full view of the public.
However, with the help of negotiators, he was convinced not to take his own life and was arrested.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi confirmed that Leboho was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, three years for unlawful possession of a firearm and one year of direct imprisonment for a count of unlawful possession of ammunition.
She said that during the trial, Leboho told the court he was on the scene to assist the mother of his children and she was killed by an unknown person.
“In aggravation of the sentence, the State advocate, Malebo Maleka, has submitted that the accused did not abandon his plan to kill the deceased even though he had many opportunities to do so; the offence was premeditated and deserving of a life sentence.
“She further said that the fact that the accused has paid dowry for the deceased does not mean she was his property,” Malabi-Dzhangi said.
She added that Maleka concluded the case by saying that the accused never showed any remorse throughout the proceedings.
“In sentencing, Judge Griet Muller remarked that the offence was premeditated and it is a family tragedy.
“He said that the family will never see the deceased again because of the accused. He further remarked that there are no substantial or compelling circumstances to justify a deviation from the prescribed minimum sentence.
“As the NPA, we say no to any form of violence, including physical, emotional, psychological, sexual or economic.”
The Director Public Prosecutions, advocate Ivy Thenga, commended the good work done by Maleka and investigating officers Ratsoma Phillemon and Moloko Jeffrey Mabitsela of Polokwane police station.
Rakoma’s family had previously told the Pretoria News that they had blamed themselves for her death, saying they ignored her warnings and pleas for help.
They said before Rakoma was killed she had pleaded for their intervention, warning that the father of her three children was baying for her blood over her decision to end the relationship; she told them that the suspect was stalking her.
Rakoma’s sister, Tebogo, and her aunt, Aletta Lephalala, said the deceased had given them several warnings, days before she was murdered, that her life was in danger – because her boyfriend of eight years had become increasingly abusive.
According to the family, the accused’s stalking tendencies began when Rakoma left him because of his violent nature.
They said she told them that the suspect had turned against her after they started experiencing financial difficulties, which forced them to move back into a room in her mother’s house, in Seshego.
Pretoria News