NOTORIOUS gangster Kgomotso Mashego has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for attempting to kill his ex-lover and a local man.
The 39-year-old was sentenced by the Mhala Regional Court on Friday, 4 November.
The first witness, Prudence Maunye (36), told the court that in January 2020, the accused shot her in a tavern in Bushbuckridge where she worked.
Another witness, Sbusiso Nkambule (33), told the court that the accused attacked him by slapping him in the face and he retaliated by hitting him with a bottle. He said the accused then attacked him with a gun at his place. But Mashego denied the allegations.
He said: “I dispute the witnesses’ identity of the attacker as me. I would ask this court to ask the prosecutor to give me the original docket, not this copy I am given before court. There’s no J88, footage, fingerprints, DNA results, nothing in front of the court.
“But the prosecutor is mentioning a J88. This court should consider that I have spent two-and-a-half years in jail and must not declare me unfit to possess a firearm. How am I going to protect myself from criminals if my small business happens to grow bigger?”
His utterances came after the public prosecutor, Lot Mgiba, told the court that the accused had previous convictions.
“The accused is facing a very serious offence of attempting to kill his ex-lover and a local villager. On 21 June 1999, he was sentenced to eight months or R1 200 fine for theft. On 21 September 2000, he was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment for escaping from lawful custody.
“On 16 October 2000, he was found guilty and convicted of possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition and assault. On 29 July 2004, the accused was convicted of housebreaking and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. On 26 September 2007, he was convicted and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for housebreaking.
“On 25 April 2013, he was convicted and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment and released on parole on 28 February 2018 for escaping from lawful custody,” said Mgiba.
However, Magistrate Majaji Ngobeni said the court disregarded his previous convictions that happened more than 10 years ago in the sentencing.
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“The accused showed no remorse. This court found you guilty on both counts and you are sentenced to five years on each count,” said Ngobeni.
