The Free State High Court has thrown the book at two men who shot at two Wepener police officers, killing one and wounding the other, during a business armed robbery. During its sitting in Bloemfontein on Friday, 15 March, the court sentenced Colesele William Ndalose (40) to 30 years’ imprisonment and Moeketsi Edward Koto (32) to 34 years.
They were charged with murder, attempted murder, and business robbery with aggravating circumstances. Const. Kananelo Mokgothu (22) was fatally shot, and his colleague wounded during a shoot-out with a group of armed robbers on 10 May in 2022.
WO Fikiswa Matoti, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, said the two men’s sentencing was the culmination of an investigation by the Bloemfontein Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation team, in collaboration with the Wepener police. She said Ndalose and Koto were sentenced to ten years and 12 years, respectively, for the robbery of firearms belonging to police officers. “All sentences will run concurrently,” said Matoti.
Mokgothu was shot in the neck and the upper body. He was declared deceased on the scene. The armed robbers reportedly took R60 000 in cash, beverages, and cigarettes before fleeing on foot.
Koto and Ndalose joined a third accused, a woman named Wendy Susan Jacobs (43), who was slapped with ten years’ direct imprisonment for her role in the crime. She was sentenced on 3 October last year after pleading to charges of business robbery with aggravating circumstances. According to police, the business armed robbery took place on 10 May 2022.
