The former police officer who shot dead his nurse ex-girlfriend at Tembisa hospital last year was sentenced to 25 years by the Johannesburg High Court yesterday. Lucky Mudau was left paralysed after turning the gun on himself after shooting Lebogang Vinolia Monene last year. Due to his ill health and disability, Mudau’s sentence was suspended for five years on the condition that he does not commit the same offence. The accused pleaded guilty to pre-meditated murder.

CORRECTIONAL SERVICE CANNOT ACCOMMODATE HIM

The court ruled on a suspended sentence because no correctional facility could accommodate him and the wardens can only offer primary health care. Mudau was diagnosed with a spinal cord injury which resulted in paralysis of both the upper and lower body. The National Prosecuting Authority said in a statement that the court arrived at this ruling owing to the testimony of Dr. Raymond Mathebula, from the Tshwane Rehabilitation Centre, that outlined the diagnosis of Mudau’s quadriplegic medical condition, as well as that of health workers from the Department of Correctional Services, who testified that they offer primary health services and therefore there is no Correctional Facility that can accommodate Mudau. The Head of Healthcare Services Mirriam Mabe said:" We provide primary healthcare services on an outpatient basis, and only attend to patients that require monitoring and observation over a short period. If the inmate’s condition deteriorates or does not respond to administered medication, we then refer that particular inmate to an outside facility (public hospital), and in severe cases, medical parole is invoked for such individuals for their families to provide self-care."

IT WAS DIFFICULT 

The court said it called Mabe as a witness as it was faced with the dilemma of dispensing a proportionate sentence, that must strike a balance between the circumstances of the accused, the interest of the affected family, and the interest of justice. The NPA said Mudau is wheelchair-bound and was diagnosed with C5 Quadriplegia, rendering him unable to do anything on his own, including turning himself in bed, bathing, feeding himself, and using a bathroom. Senior State Advocate Vincent Maphiri, argued that though the crime the accused was convicted of was murder, which falls squarely under gender-based violence, which the community demands justice for, cumulatively, the court must consider the personal circumstances of the accused, which amounted to substantial and compelling circumstances."It is a known fact that the accused was convicted of brutally taking the life of Monene and that no sentence imposed by the court can match the loss of life and the pain and suffering her family continues to endure. The law provides that the court may deviate from a minimum prescribed sentence provided there are substantial and compelling circumstances that warrant such a deviation, and it is against this background and peculiar circumstances the court found itself in, that we accept the imposed sentence as just, "said Maphiri.