KEY POINTS
- A Limpopo-based man aged 28 received two sentences of life imprisonment because he murdered and raped a person.
- A 70-year-old female victim became the target of a R20 debt when she suffered murder and rape at the hands of the assailant.
- Forensic DNA traces from the crime scene directly connected him to the murder-mystery which he admitted his guilt through a plea agreement.
Tebogo Gwangwa received a double life sentence after he killed and raped the elderly victim somewhere in Ga-Magongoa village.
The Limpopo resident Tebogo Gwangwa received two life prison sentences following his conviction for killing and sexually assaulting a 70-year-old woman at Ga-Magongoa village. The Mahwelereng Regional Court decided that the sentences would execute in parallel fashion.
Gwangwa admitted that his crime happened on July 15, 2023 after he entered the victim’s house to recover a R20 debt. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi reported that the attacker strangled the victim to death while preventing identification after his sexual assault.
DNA evidence secures conviction
The DNA results established Gwangwa’s participation in the crime, so he eventually accepted guilt responsibility. State prosecutor Morris Thanyane testified before the court that the victim suffered two violations of her fundamental rights during the attack which took place in her secure residence.
The State prosecutor asked for the mandatory life sentence because no factors existed to show that less punishment would be sufficient. Gwangwa received arrest in August 2024 after court approval of the legal sentence requirements.
