At the height of the Thohoyandou criminal-syndicate activity and gang killings between 2022 and 2024, when several alleged gang members were shot in hit-style attacks, community members began to suspect that police officers might be involved. Their suspicions were later confirmed when a police sergeant was arrested and linked to the gangs.
Ntshavheni Ndonyane (44), a former police sergeant attached to the Public Order Policing Services unit in Soweto, was sentenced last Thursday (6 November) in the Mokopane Regional Court to five years' direct imprisonment for the possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
According to Limpopo police spokesperson Col Malesela Ledwaba, the sentencing followed Ndonyane's arrest in April 2024 near the Nyl Plaza tollgate during an intelligence-led operation by a multidisciplinary police team established to investigate a series of targeted killings in Thohoyandou.
The killings were believed to be linked to organised criminal groups, namely the Jerusalem Gang and the Black Mafia Forum (BMF).
Ndonyane was found in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition suspected to have been used in several violent crimes committed by members of these gangs.
"Following his arrest. Ndonyane was dismissed from the South African Police Service and remained in custody without bail until the conclusion of his case. Besides his five-year sentence, Ndonyane is still to stand trial for five counts of murder committed in the Vhembe region," he said.
Acting Limpopo police commissioner Maj-Gen Jan Scheepers welcomed the sentence, saying it would serve as a warning to other officers. "We will not tolerate this form of criminal conduct within our ranks. We will continue to dismantle organised criminal networks and ensure that those who betray the badge face the consequences in terms of the law," he said.