POLOKWANE – A Limpopo police officer has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment for murdering an unarmed motorist and planting evidence to cover up the killing, the Limpopo High Court ruled this week.
Avhahumi Adolphus Netshikweta (41), a highway patrol officer from Melo Park in Polokwane, was convicted of murder in connection with the September 2017 shooting of Mabiletja Hlompho in Lebowakgomo.
The court heard that Netshikweta and his colleagues had received a false tip-off about a suspect allegedly delivering drugs in a Volkswagen Polo. When officers pursued the vehicle, Hlompho stopped at a traffic light, unaware he was being followed.
According to court testimony, Hlompho complied when instructed to switch off his engine. However, while the motorist was following orders, Netshikweta shot him dead without justification.
The case took a dramatic turn when investigators from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) proved that drugs and a toy gun allegedly found in Hlompho’s vehicle had been planted by Netshikweta to justify the killing.
Netshikweta pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During sentencing proceedings, State Advocate Andisa Vavilova Mudau argued for the mandatory minimum sentence, telling the court that Netshikweta was the aggressor and that Hlompho “did not do anything that warranted his life to be taken away in such a gruesome manner.”
The court also heard that Netshikweta faces two pending cases of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, suggesting “a propensity for violence,” according to the state.
Mudau said that as a law enforcement officer, Netshikweta had “brought the criminal justice system into disrepute” and violated the South African Constitution he had sworn to protect and serve.
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the sentence, with Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Ivy Thenga stressing the importance of protecting human life.
“It can never be overemphasised how important human life is, and therefore we will be vigorous in our pursuit of these cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers,” Thenga said.
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