POLOKWANE – A former Limpopo Police Captain has been convicted and sentenced in the Giyani Regional Court for murder and attempted murder.
Dennis Paradise Nghunyulu (59), who was attached to the Modjadjiskloof Police Station, was convicted of the murder of 23 year old Osi Mkhabela and attempted murder of his elder brother aged 26, following an incident that took place at the accused’s tavern at Makosha village in Giyani on Saturday 18 May 2019.
The court heard the accused was about to close his tavern in the early hours at about 01h00, when a fight ensued between him and a customer. In the process, the accused took his wife’s licensed firearm shot the customer and his brother.
Police were notified. The first victim, Osi Mkhabela was certified dead on the scene by the paramedics, while his brother survived and was transported to the local hospital for medical treatment. The incident caused the community to go on a rampage and the following day they barricaded roads while others went to the accused’s tavern and torched it along with his vehicles.
The accused later handed himself to the Police. He appeared before the local Magistrate’s Court on 02 June 2019 where he was granted bail.
On 02 June 2023, the accused was found guilty of murder and attempted murder. On Friday 21 July 2023, the court subsequently sentenced Nghunyulu to 10 years imprisonment for murder and 3 years imprisonment for attempted murder.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
The case has been handled by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the sentences and hopes it sends a strong message that no one is above the law.