Three men from Bethulie in the Xhariep District in Free State were sentenced by the Bloemfontein High Court sitting in Bethulie for robbing and murdering a Bangladeshi shopkeeper in September 2020.
The trio, Thamsanqa Mokoena (17), Akhona Mthathi (19) and Lerato Yokwana (19) murdered and robbed a Bangladeshi shopkeeper (41) by hacking him with an axe and fleeing the scene afterwards, they took groceries, money and cigarettes.
A neighbour who heard the screams alerted the Police. Police managed to apprehend the trio after following information at their disposal and recovered cash and items that were stolen by the men.
Thamsanqa Mokoena was sentenced to 15 years for murder and 15 years for robbery, Lerato Yokwana was sentenced to 20 years for murder and 15 years for robbery and Akhona Mthathi was sentenced to 20 years for murder and 15 years for robbery
