Modise Lobelo
CHRISTIANA – Two convicted killers, Quinton Brits (38) and Mabote Ernest Leshea (31), will spend the rest of their lives behind bars following a hefty prison sentence they received at the High Court of South Africa, sitting at the Klerksdorp Regional Court.
The two have been sentenced to two life terms for double murder, five years for housebreaking and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
According to information received by MORONGWA, in 2020, August 30, two customers found an elderly couple murdered in their shop, Madeira, in Christiana. The customers immediately notified the police of the incident.
The police found the place to be in disarray, with the husband tied with cable ties, dried blood on both the of the victim’s noses, and money tills opened. Cellphones were also confirmed missing by the daughter of the couple.
Intense investigations by the police led them to the arrest of Brits two days later, on the 1st of September, and Leshea on the 3rd of September 2020. When Brits was arrested in Jan Kempdorp, Northern Cape, some items stolen at the shop were found in his possession. He subsequently took the police to a house in Christiana where the rest of the loot was stored. Leshea who is a Lesotho national, was arrested in Roodepoort, Gauteng, and during his arrest, police also found him with items stolen from the shop.
In conclusion, NPA’s Regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame said: “In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor, Adv Kgalalelo Molefe, urged the court not to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence of life imprisonment on each of the counts of murder. She urged the court to consider the seriousness of the offence as the victims were elderly people and further pleaded that it impose a sentence that would serve as a deterrent. Judge Samkelo Gura, agreed with the state and imposed a double life imprisonment and 20 years for each accused.”
