A 37-year-old police officer convicted of killing a Germiston hotelier was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Johannesburg High Court on Wednesday.
Inspector Sibongakonke Ndlovu, found guilty on Friday of shooting dead Petrus Jooste — the owner of the Republic hotel in Elsburg — on New Year’s Day, apparently became ill when the sentence was passed.
He drank three glasses of water and was unable to remain standing for the conclusion of the trial.
Pronouncing sentence, Judge Max Labe told Ndlovu he does not belong in the police service and also declared him unfit to possess a firearm. He was also refused leave to appeal against the conviction and sentence.
Ndlovu, a father of three and married to a police captain, had 15 years of service as a police officer. He maintained he was justified in killing Jooste.
Ndlovu and his partner, Inspector Hambisani Hadebe, were investigating a complaint in the hotel bar at 3pm on New Year’s Day when a disagreement arose between him and Jooste.
The court was told earlier in the trial that after the heated discussion, Jooste left the bar, slamming a steel security door behind him and leaving the two police officers locked in the building.
Ndlovu then kicked the burglar proofing on the window before shooting Jooste through the window. He died on the scene.
Labe rejected Ndlovu’s claims, in mitigation of sentence on Friday, that he was defending himself, as the hotelier was unarmed. — Sapa