Life in jail for cop killers
2003-09-08 07:52
Three men convicted of the murder of inspector Marius Engelbrecht, 37, were all sentenced to life sentences and an additional 84 years each by the Johannesburg High Court on Thursday.
Police Superintendent Eugene Opperman said Zered Nchaba, Mfolawane Buthelezi and Boy Dlamini, all in their 30s, would "spend the rest of their natural life in jail".
Opperman said Engelbrecht and a colleague were on patrol in March 2001 when they pulled over a vehicle with four suspicious-looking occupants at the corner of Voortrekker and 4th Streets, Edenvale.
A struggle ensued in which Engelbrecht was shot and fatally wounded.
Engelbrecht, a father of three, died minutes later.
North Rand police, responding to a distress call on their radio, also came under fire. The suspects then fled on foot.
A large contingent of police officers arrived in search of the suspects, arresting one of them only minutes later.
Follow-up investigative work led to the arrest of two more suspects soon afterwards.
The three men were charged with murder, attempted murder and the illegal possession of firearms. They were convicted on all charges.
The area commissioner for the South African Police Service on the North Rand, assistant commissioner Joel Mokwena, said the SAPS was extremely happy with the sentence.
- SAPA