Almost four years after the gruesome murder of two Johannesburg businesswomen who were killed in a hail of bullets while looking for business premises in Polokwane, their killers, including the husband were given life sentences by the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane on Friday, 16 August 2024.
Thabo Leshabane (62), Ndondo Buthelezi (32), Thembelani Dhlamini (37), and Sfiso Phiyose (40) each received two life sentences for their roles in the murders of Makoena Mabusela Leshabane (46) and Tebogo Mphuthi (34).
Ndondo Buthelezi received an additional three-year sentence for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. One suspect, Richard Zulu, died in custody.
On October 10, 2020, the victims, Chartered Accountant Makoena Mabusela-Leshabane and her business partner Tebogo Mphuti were shot dead while sitting in a Mercedes-Benz in the Polokwane industrial area by hitmen hired by Makoena’s husband, Thabo Leshabane.
Two cases of murder were registered at Polokwane Police Station and then transferred to the Provincial Tracking Team.
On 21 October 2020, they made a breakthrough in arresting five suspects, including the husband of the deceased, Stanley Thabo Leshabane.
During the trial, the state-led evidence of several witnesses, two of whom told the court how they observed three African men approaching the Mercedes-Benz and firing several shots at the women. A fourth male person remained in a maroon Hyundai vehicle, which was used as a getaway car by the accused.
The state was able to prove its case as they had overwhelming evidence that implicated the accused. The accused Mr Leshabane and his co accused also made confessions. The evidence further revealed that the motive for the killing was marital issues and an expressed desire by Makoena to end the marriage. This resulted in Leshabane arranging a hit.
The court (Judge Gerrit Muller) accepted that the evidence of the state proved the guilt of all the accused beyond reasonable doubt and found all the accused guilty of two counts of murder.
The court rejected the versions of all the accused and found their versions not to be reasonable and possibly true.
This was beside Leshabane’s claim that their marriage was healthy, which the court equally rejected as not reasonably, possibly true.
The Provincial Commissioner of SAPS in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has commended the detectives team led by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Boshomane for demonstrating in many ways their meticulous investigation skills by solving a number of complex and sensational cases, thus ensuring families find closure as perpetrators are permanently incarcerated.
