The Mpumalanga High Court in Nelspruit has convicted and sentenced Lucky Mabhobo Silinda (28) to life imprisonment and 70 years direct imprisonment for violent crimes on Tuesday.

This is after the Mabhobo entered into a plea sentence agreement with the state. Mpumalanga National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Monica Nyuswa said in his plea, Mabhomo pleaded guilty to the crimes and was subsequently convicted of housebreaking with intent to rob, robbery with aggravating circumstances, murder and attempted murder. She said that the crimes were committed between September 2021 to June 2022, in Clau-Clau, Pienaar, KaBokweni and Masoyi, in the district of Nsikazi. "He would break into his victims' houses, threaten them with a firearm and rob them of their valuables like cellphones, cash and jewellery. In one incident which happened on 08 September 2021, at Makoko Trust, he, together with unknown perpetrators, entered the church building armed with a firearm and found a group of ladies counting money for the burial society. They robbed the ladies of the money and their cellphones and fled the scene," Nyuswa said.

In another incident, Nyuswa said Mabhobo together with unknown perpetrators broke into the house in Clau-Clau armed with a firearm and found three occupants sleeping. She said they fired shots which injured a female victim in the stomach and took the victim's cellphones. The woman survived. "Whilst walking out of the house, one of the occupants, Patson Elmon Nyantumba, tried to hit them with a golf stick and they fatally shot him and walked away. They then further forced the third victim to the vehicle which was parked outside the yard and drove with him to his parental home and demanded cellphones and cash before fleeing the scene."

During the police investigation, the accused was found in possession of some of the victims' cellphones and jewellery. He was identified as one of the intruders who broke into the deceased's house at the identification parade. Nyuswa further said that in court, Mabhobo pleaded guilty to the charges against him where State Advocate Antoinette Nkosi submitted to the court that his guilty plea was not a sign of remorse and that the court must consider the interest of the victims, the seriousness of the charges the accused is convicted off by imposing a prescribed minimum sentence. "Advocate Nkosi further submitted that the accused should be removed from the society. Judge Hendrickus Roelofse found no compelling and substantial circumstances to deviate from the minimum sentence and sentenced the accused to life imprisonment," she said.