Limpopo Police officers sentenced to eight years for robbery

Two Limpopo Police officers have been sentenced to eight years of direct imprisonment on one count of robbery. The officers Lecton Ramasenya (40) and Frans Seema (35) were working under the Matlala Police station, in the Capricorn District.

In the first incident, on 20 July 2016 at Boslag-Matlala the accused went on a robbery spree at Matlala village targeting Indian-owned shops. Ramasenya and Seema were on duty, wearing police uniforms and also driving police vehicles, they approached a shop owner under the pretense that the shop owner was selling dagga.

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Once they were inside the premises the accused persons ordered the owner of the shop to lie down while they ransacked cigarettes, airtime and cellphones.

In the second incident, the accused followed the other owner to the warehouse. When they arrived they also took his stock. During the trial, the accused person pleaded not guilty and remained silent.

POLICE OFFICERS SENTENCED FOR ROBBERY

In aggravation of the sentence, the state advocate Andisa Mudau submitted that the accused persons were law enforcement officers who were supposed to uphold the law.

Instead, they broke the very same law. This kind of conduct especially by law enforcement officers makes the community lose confidence in the justice system. The only suitable sentence would be a direct sentence without the option of a fine.

The court agreed with the state and sentenced both accused to eight years of direct imprisonment respectively.

The NPA in Limpopo has welcomed the sentence. They hope that the sentence will deter would-be offenders. They also applauded the good work of warrant officer Leseba Rakapule and Adv. Andisa Mudau.