Cape Town – Polokwane High Court has sentenced a Limpopo traditional healer to 20 years and an additional 12 years in prison for the murder and robbing of his deceased client.
The court reached the verdict after it heard how Tinyiko Simango, 51, brutally killed Victor Phokgedi Lekau, 65, who was visiting his practice for a consultation on May 02, 2022, the police said.
“The two drove to bushes near Groothoek to perform rituals. On arrival, the accused hit the victim with a wheel spanner, killing him instantly, then drove off in the stolen motor vehicle,” said police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba in a statement.
Simango then drove around nearby villages trying to sell the deceased’s car but failed.
#sapsLIM Traditional healer slapped with hefty sentences for May 2022 murder and robbery perpetrated in Ga-Mphahlele village outside Lebowakgomo. The 51yr-old accused will serve an effective 20 years’ in prison. #Sentencing #TrioCrimes MEhttps://t.co/d6UeNVrGvE pic.twitter.com/glurKvjBOx
— SA Police Service ?? (@SAPoliceService) November 11, 2022
“A few days later, the tracker company contacted the deceased’s family when they could not reach him after they noticed the battery was disconnected.
“That’s when the family went to Lebowakgomo police station to report the matter. A case of a missing person was opened and police commenced with a search operation for the missing man,” said Ledwaba.
The traditional healer was arrested on May 07 in hospital after the vehicle overturned during a high-speed chase with the tracking company.
Simango confessed to killing Lekau and took the police to the crime scene, where the body was found in a state of decomposition.
The court ordered Simango’s sentences to run concurrently, meaning the accused will serve an effective 20 years imprisonment.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
