Two men received harsh sentences in the South Gauteng High Court for the murder of a woman in Mooinooi in 2019.
Edmore Chirongoma (28) and Moses Phillip Mhlanga Baloyi (24) were sentenced to life and 19 years imprisonment respectively for an armed house robbery in January 2019 during which a mother of a small child was shot and killed.
Chirongoma and Baloyi invaded a home in Bapong near Mooinooi on an afternoon in January 2019. A husband, wife and child were in the house. “They threatened the victims with a firearm, assaulted the husband and demanded the car keys. When the husband could not find the keys, the suspects fired shots and finding the keys in the bedroom, they fled with the family’s white Mazda Drifter. The husband found his wife in the bedroom with a gunshot wound to the stomach. She was rushed to hospital, but succumbed to the injuries sustained during the shooting,” said police spokesperson, Colonel Adéle Myburgh.
The suspects were arrested the next day when Hartbeespoort police members stopped them in a car they had stolen earlier the day. “During a search of the vehicle, police found an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. After a thorough investigation, police also recovered the white Mazda Drifter at the suspects’ place,” she said.
Chirongoma was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 20 years for attempted murder, 11 years for contravening the Firearms Control Act, seven years for car theft and two years for contravening the Immigration Act.
Baloyi was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for car theft, 10 years for attempted murder and two years for contravening the Immigration Act.
The Provincial Commissioner of North West, Lieutenant General Sello Kwena, welcomed the sentences and thanked the investigating officer, Constable Leonard Mapataka of Mooinooi detectives and other role players, including the prosecution, for their diligence in ensuring that the accused get the maximum sentences.