The Pretoria High Court has sentenced Jonas Jabulani Tsotetsi (44) from Orange Farm to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of South African Police Service (SAPS) employee, Norman Nwasombana Muhlari. Tsotetsi was also sentenced to 15 years each for three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, 15 years for possession of a firearm, and three years for possession of ammunition.
The court ordered that one count of robbery with aggravating circumstances and the charge of possession of ammunition run concurrently with the life sentence, making the effective sentence life imprisonment plus 45 years.
On the morning of 6 August 2015, Tsotetsi and a group of accomplices targeted Orange Farm Train Station, where they overpowered security guards, tied them up, and robbed them of their belongings. Using grinders and explosives, they attempted to access the station’s money vault. While the robbery was in progress, Muhlari and his colleague arrived at the station on a routine patrol. After failing to get a response from the security guards, the officers left their vehicle to investigate. Upon returning to the police van, Muhlari was shot and killed by the robbers, and his colleague was tied up, assaulted, and robbed of their service pistols.
Tsotetsi and his group then fled the scene.Following investigations, it was discovered that Tsotetsi had fled to Mozambique. He was arrested on 2 December 2019, five years after the crime, upon returning to South Africa. During the trial, Tsotetsi initially pleaded not guilty but later admitted liability after hearing testimony from three state witnesses.
His legal representative requested the court to consider the four years Tsotetsi had spent in prison awaiting trial. However, the state prosecutor, Advocate Gerhard Maritz, argued that Tsotetsi committed serious offenses and showed no remorse for his actions. He pointed out that Tsotetsi had neither apologised to the victim’s family nor expressed regret for his crimes.
Judge Portia Dipuo Phahlane, presiding over the case, concurred with the state’s argument that Tsotetsi displayed no remorse and committed extremely serious offences. She ruled that there were no compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentences.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomes the sentencing and hopes that it sends a strong message that the NPA condemns the killing of SAPS officers, who are vital to the protection of society.
