Hitman Khumbula Sithole was found guilty this week for the assassination of Senior Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) investigator Mandlakayise Samson Mahlangu. He was shot dead in a suspected hit which was disguised as an armed robbery in a lodge in March 2020. The Pretoria High Court will sentence Sithole today. The accuseD is said to have confirmed killing Mahlangu in cold blood and revealed the name of the top police who hired him.

CHARGES

Sithole is facing charges of murder, robbery and illegal possession of a firearm. According to the police, a group of men arrived at a plot where Mahlangu was, at about 3.30 AM, while he was sleeping in his lodge. It is alleged that the group of men held Mahlangu and a worker at gunpoint. The suspects shot Mahlangu and fled, taking with them his white bakkie and some household items making it look like a robbery.

ITEMS STOLEN

Before his death, Mahlangu was part of the team investigating high-profile cases against several police officers, including the one involving former acting police commissioner ,Khomotso Phahlane. He was due to testify in an internal crime intelligence inquiry into an alleged jobs-for-favours scheme within the police service. According to reports, the hitman was ordered and paid for by the police.