Police official killer face full might of the law after hefty sentence

The Bloemfontein High Court sentenced the accused, Thembelani Sidwell Ngaleka to 15 years in jail for the brutal murder of Bloemfontein police officer.

The 30-year-old also faced charges related to theft, house breaking with intent to rob and commit robbery as well as possession of unlicensed firearm on Thursday, 21 April.

According to Free State Hawks spokesperson, Captain Christopher Singo, Ngaleka’s sentence comes from an incident which occurred on 12 October 2020.

“On the day of the incident, Constable Ofentse Odirile Katlego Mokgadinyane (30) was shot and killed at his house in Bergman Square, Bloemfontein,” added Singo.

The unfortunate murder of constable Mokgadinyane occurred during a robbery at his house by unknown suspects at the time.

These suspects fled the scene with a laptop and the deceased’s wallet.

“Constable Mokgadinyane was also attached to the Crime Intelligence Unit (CI),” informed Singo.

The Bloemfontein Hawks Serious Organised Crime Investigation along with CI and Tactical Response Team (TRT) from Bloemfontein conducted an intelligence-driven operation to catch the suspects.

The operation yielded positive results as the teams managed to arrest Ngaleka with two other suspects.

Yesterday, 21 April, the court found Ngaleka guilty on all his charges and equated other two suspects of the charges.

For murder, Ngaleka received life imprisonment and15 years imprisonment for all other charges combined.

Ngaleka’s sentences will run concurrently.