Monday, February 5, 2024 – A 24-year-old man who murdered a pensioner for pointing him out to police has been sent to prison for an effective 18 years behind bars.
The National
Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed the conviction and sentencing of Luvo
Nqetho in the Lusikisiki Regional Court.
Nqetho murdered
61-year-old Sipho Damane on July 25, 2022.
Damane had
been walking with his friend when two detectives stopped them and asked if they
knew a person called Luvo Nqetho.
The
policemen explained that he was a person of interest in a case they were
investigating. Damane pointed out Nqetho who was sitting in his motor vehicle
not far from where they were standing.
“The two
detectives then approached the vehicle they were shown by the deceased and
asked the person who was sitting in the driver's seat if he knew a person
called Luvo Nqetho.
“Nqetho
misled the two detectives and lied to them that he was the brother and
accompanied them to a homestead he claimed they lived in.”
A short
while later Nqetho approached Damane and his friend, pulled out his firearm,
and asked them why they pointed him out when the two detectives enquired.
“He then
shot Damane nine times, instantly killing him, and told his friend that the
reason he did not shoot him was that he respected him.”
Nqetho was
on the run from police and was arrested two months later in a neighbouring
town, Flagstaff.
He was
arrested on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Four days
before the start of the trial, the NPA said the key State witness and the
deceased’s friend, Khayalethu Dulaze, was gunned down at his home by unknown
gunmen.
Despite
Nqetho pleading not guilty, the State proved its case beyond a reasonable
doubt.
“The Eastern
Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, commended the prosecutor,
and investigating officers for successfully prosecuting the case under trying
circumstances where the key witness was suspiciously murdered, most probably to
thwart the trial,” said Tyali.
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