TWO SECURITY GUARDS SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR MURDER
12 September 2025
TWO SECURITY GUARDS SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT FOR MURDER
Kimberley, Northern Cape – The Kimberley Regional Court has convicted and sentenced Itumeleng Mogwemang (37) and Neo Potlwane (33) to 15 years of direct imprisonment each for the murder of 39-year-old Willem Westhuizen. On 09 April 2022, the accused, employed as a security officer at the Shoprite Usave store in Roodepan, Kimberley, confronted the deceased on allegations of theft. Instead of following lawful procedures, they assaulted him outside the store, dragged him into the storeroom, and continued a brutal attack. They kicked and trampled on him, forced him inside a scissor-made step ladder, and jumped on it. A post-mortem confirmed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the chest, with multiple fractured ribs.
The State, led by Prosecutor Mothelesi Katlego Thothela, called four witnesses, including the pathologist, whose evidence corroborated the eyewitness accounts of the assault. The court found the testimony consistent and compelling, convicting both accused of murder read with section 51(2) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
During sentencing, Prosecutor Thothela argued that the accused had abused their positions of authority, failing in their duty to protect the public and instead committing violence against a defenceless man. He stressed that the right to life, enshrined in section 11 of the Constitution, had been grossly violated. The State urged the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment. In its ruling, the court held that there were no substantial or compelling circumstances to deviate from the minimum sentence and accordingly sentenced both accused to 15 years’ direct imprisonment.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomes the outcome, which reaffirms the principle that those entrusted with protecting the public must uphold the rule of law and will be held accountable when they abuse their powers. The NPA daily prosecutes hundreds of such matters to safeguard communities and ensure justice for victims of crime.
Issued by:
Mojalefa Senokoatsane
NPA Regional Spokesperson
Northern Cape Division
073 423 3539