The management of the police in Gauteng has described the use of multidisciplinary task teams in the investigation of crime as one of effective tools in bringing perpetrators of crime to account.
These sentiments came to the fore as four accused were earlier this week sentenced to two life imprisonment each behind bars and an additional combined 147 years in jail for the double murder and robbery of two security officers in Hillbrow including possession of unlicensed firearms.
The four went into a well-known retail store in Hillbrow in February 2019 as the store was about to close for the day. They shot, robbed and killed the two security officers who were there to guard the staff as they were about to close shop.
The investigating team was conducted by Provincial Serious and Violence Crime Investigation team, with Detective Sergeant Nkosingiphile Mathenjwa leading the investigation.
Immediately after the gruesome incident, a multidisciplinary task team was formed and in less than a month, the suspects were detected and arrested in Hillbrow. One of them, Smilo Ncube, was arrested as he was about to board a taxi to skip the country to Zimbabwe.
The accused crime spree finally ended on Friday when the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg sent them to double life sentences plus a collective 147 years in prison, thus withdrawing them from the society forever.
The conclusion of the case was a huge relief for Detective Sergeant Mathenjwa, who not only had to deal with the painstaking task of investigating thoroughly, but had to politely and patiently deal with the families of the deceased. “The families did not understand why the case took so long. As a team we are glad to have spoken for the deceased and that the four accused will never have to cause another trauma to another family,” said Mathenjwa, a seasoned detective with 16 years’ experience.
The Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen Elias Mawela applauded the investigating team for a meticulous investigation which ensured that justice is served.
Content retrieved from: https://www.saps.gov.za/newsroom/msspeechdetail.php?nid=48319.
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