A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for murder, rape, and assault.

The Hennenman Regional Court sentenced Pule Koos Khongoane on Thursday 2 July, after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges dating back to 2013.

The court heard how DNA evidence presented by the investigation team and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) linked Khongoane to several crimes committed in Phomolong.

During 2013, the police were summoned to a murder scene in Phomolong where they discovered the motionless, half-naked body of Papaki Anna Ntsane (80). She was found with multiple fatal injuries and her face was covered with a duvet cover. In March 2014, Khongoane broke into a residential area in Phomolong.

On Saturday 2 December 2023, he accosted a 45-year-old woman, threatened her with a knife, and raped her. On the same evening in a separate incident, he physically assaulted a 64-year-old woman at her home. The victim managed to escape and ask for help, leading to Khongoane fleeing the scene.

In July 2025, he unlawfully entered a residence in Phomolong where money, a cellphone, and groceries were stolen. The stolen cellphone and groceries were later recovered from him.

The Forensic Science Laboratory‘s investigations on buccal samples collected from Khongoane positively linked him to the crimes.

The matter was assigned to Sgt Mantshe Mojela of the Provincial Forensic Investigation Lead Unit based in Welkom.

Khongoane was traced and arrested, and pleaded guilty on all charges.

The court sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, of which two years is suspended for five years, 20 years for murder, and 10 years for rape. He received three years’ imprisonment on each of two counts of housebreaking with intent to steal and theft, suspended for five years. The court ordered the assault and rape sentences to run concurrently with the murder sentence. His name was entered in the National Register for Sex Offenders.

Maj. Gen. Tholie Afonso, Lejweleputswa District Commissioner, welcomed the sentencing which resulted from collaborative efforts by the police working alongside prosecutor Labuschagne of the NPA.

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