File
A 40-year-old man has been jailed for life for the fatal shooting of a police officer during a gun battle with armed robbers in Marikana in Rustenburg in North West.
Police spokesperson, Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso, said Thabo Motaung was sentenced in the Rustenburg Regional Court on Monday following his arrest in November 2020.
He said Motaung was involved in a business robbery in Marikana with other accomplices.
Rikhotso said members of the Marikana Crime Prevention Unit had been following leads regarding the robbery a few days earlier when they spotted the accused and others at an informal settlement in Marikana.
“When they approached the group, they were met with gunshots. A shootout ensued resulting in the fatal killing of a police officer and the subsequent arrest of the shooter,” he said.
Motaung was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, seven years imprisonment for the unlawful possession of a firearm, and five years imprisonment for the unlawful possession of ammunition.
He was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for discharging a firearm and twelve months imprisonment for being an illegal immigrant.
