The High Court in Polokwane has handed down a sentence to Tubake Sister Maesela, a widow aged 44, and her boyfriend Mmamoraba Jacob Mashiba, aged 41, for the brutal murder of Maesela’s husband, Warrant Officer Mogokolodi Cleopass Digama, aged 53.
The court found Maesela and Mashiba guilty of the March 2021 murder of Digama, who served as a warrant officer at the Apel police station in Limpopo.
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According to Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, the spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Limpopo, the incident occurred when Digama was shot and robbed of his South African Police Service (SAPS) pistol and vehicle while visiting a friend’s tuckshop.
The investigation revealed that Digama was shot with an unknown pistol in Lerajane village, Mohlaletsi, in the Sekhukhune district, and his vehicle was later set on fire.
The police launched an investigation that led them to the widow and her younger lover. Further investigations uncovered that Maesela had previously attempted to poison her husband.
In addition, it was discovered that the accused had sought the assistance of a traditional healer for cleansing and had attempted to bribe witnesses with an amount of R46,350 to conceal the crime.
During the sentencing, senior State advocate Lerato Mohlaka argued that the court should not deviate from the prescribed sentence for such heinous crimes. Mohlaka described the murder as “senseless, premeditated, and callous,” emphasising that the accused showed no remorse for their actions.
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The court also heard that seconds before he was murdered, Digama uttered the words: “My love (referring to his wife Maesela), are you the one who is killing me” before the wife pulled the trigger three times, at point blank range, shooting the police officer in the forehead.
In sentencing the two lovebirds, acting Judge Ephraim Makgoba sentenced the widow Maesela and her boyfriend Mashiba to life imprisonment for the count of murder, five years for unlawful possession firearm and three years imprisonment for unlawful possession of ammunition.
The court ordered that the sentences should run concurrently.
