The Lebowakgomo Regional Court has sentenced Ntsiri Justice Mashiane (34) to an effective 20 years in prison for his role in a violent business robbery in Malipsdrift on September 4, 2022.
Mashiane was found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances, attempted murder, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and malicious injury to property. He received 15 years for robbery, 15 years for attempted murder, five years for assault, and five years for malicious injury to property. The sentences for robbery and attempted murder will run concurrently, as will the sentences for assault and malicious injury to property, resulting in a combined 20-year prison term.
According to court proceedings, Mashiane and accomplices entered a funeral parlor in Malipsdrift, located in the Sekhukhune District, where they attacked employees, shot a man, and robbed staff of their belongings. During the incident, four women were raped and six male victims were severely assaulted. The gang stole personal belongings, cellphones, and a safe containing an undisclosed amount of cash.
Mashiane was arrested in the first week of November 2022 by members of the Provincial Tracking Team and the Provincial Investigation Unit in the Mankweng policing area. On November 12, 2022, he was granted bail of R3,000 due to illness. The case docket was subsequently transferred to the Provincial Investigation Unit and assigned to Sergeant Leseka Mashamaite, whose investigation and evidence presentation led to the conviction.