An offduty police officer gets 15 years imprisonment

On the 16/05/2017 at about 02:00 an off duty 26-year-old SAPS Police Constable saw the deceased standing next to the white Mercedes Benz sedan. Without asking any questions the accused fired shots from his service pistol and killed a 38-year-old man from Mkhuhlu area, Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga Province. The deceased died on the crime scene. The deceased was identified as Themba Mbowane. After the incident the accused instructed the car guards that were in the crime scene not to tell anyone about the shooting incident. Subsequent to the shooting incident, the Constable did not report the incident to his seniors. The intention of the Constable was to hide the crime that he committed from the wheels of justice. Mr Mabasa used his professional skills and traced the witnesses and obtained their version of events that led to the murder. The shooting incident took place at corner of Frances Baard and Du Toit streets in Pretoria Central. A murder case docket was opened and allocated to our committed Senior Investigator Mr Raymond Mabasa to unravel the case. Mr Mabasa tirelessly managed to track down the car guards, that is, witnesses and obtained their affidavits detailing the version of events that led to the murder. The investigations revealed the identity of the Constable as Thabiso Robius Mailula stationed at SAPS Wierdabrug police station. Constable Mailula’s official pistol was confiscated and sent to Forensic Ballistics. Constable Mailula’s pistol was positively linked to the murder scene.

On the basis of the fact that Mr Mabasa conducted quality investigations which convinced the National Prosecution Authority (NPA to prosecute the accused). The court processes took place in Gauteng North High Court in Pretoria until the accused was convicted for murder. On the 05th of July 2019 Gauteng North High Court sentenced Constable Mailula to 15 years’ imprisonment for murder and 5 years for defeating the ends of justice respectively. When Constable Mailula was sentenced the deceased’s brother was also present and he indeed welcomed the outcome of the court. The finalization of the case also assists the family to have closure on their loss of their beloved family member.

The Acting Executive Director Mr Victor Ofentse Senna and his Gauteng Provincial management appreciates the commitment, dedication and professional work that Mr Raymond Mabasa has displayed on this case. The Acting Executive Director would like to encourage all members of law enforcement agencies to respect all the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Further to that, also to remind them that the laws are to be strictly obeyed by all of us irrespective who you are, or where you work or status in the society. The laws are made for all of us to be obeyed.

Issued by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate

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Mr Sontaga SEISA
Acting IPID National Spokesperson
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Email : sseisa@ipid.gov.za