While the family of slain businesswoman Makoena Leshabane are satisfied her husband was sentenced to a double life sentence for her murder, it is the couple’s children who face the trauma of losing both parents to the crime.
Thabo Leshabane 58, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Limpopo high court in Polokwane on Friday for killing his wife Makoena along with her business partner Tebogo Mphuti.
Makoena, a chartered accountant, and Mphuthi, were shot in a hail of bullets while sitting in a Mercedes-Benz in a Limpopo industrial area on October 10 2020 by hitmen hired by Leshabane. The women were seeking business premises in Polokwane at the time of their killing.
Hitmen Mbekezeli Ndodo Buthelezi, 28, Emmanuel Thembelani Dlamini, 33, and Bhekizenzo Sfiso Phiyose, 36, were also sentenced to life imprisonment on two counts of murder. Buthelezi was sentenced to an additional three years on two counts of possession of firearms and one year for possession of ammunition.
The men were paid a R5,000 deposit while the total agreed amount for the hit on his wife and her business partner was R60,000.
The couple had entered their marriage with children from previous relationships and had two children together. They were aged nine and 11 at the time of their mother’s murder.
Rorisang Kgosana
www.timeslive.co.za
