A North West court on Wednesday sentenced a 39-year-old man to 15 years behind bars for a range of crimes, including attempted murder.
The Bafokeng magistrate's court slapped Mpho Makatise with a 10-year prison term for attempted murder, another 10 years for theft and five years for attempting to evade justice. The court ordered the sentences of attempted murder and theft to run concurrently.
His conviction and sentence stem from a May 2021 incident at the Impala Platinum Mine in Rustenburg where Makatise and six accomplices went to steal copper cables, said National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Henry Mamothame. “They were spotted by security personnel [resulting in] one security guard being shot five times by the suspects. He was taken to a nearby hospital.
“Reports reveal that the guard spent six months in hospital and has not fully recovered as he continues to get treatment for the wounds he sustained. Six of the suspects are yet to be arrested, as they managed to escape the crime scene.”
Prosecutor Zola Mphayipheli, in aggravation of sentence, urged the court not to be lenient to the accused as he lacked remorse.
He further argued that copper cable theft was rife and one of the offences that was crippling the economy.
“The magistrate agreed with the state as she imposed a 15-year direct imprisonment on the accused,” Mphayipheli said.
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