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Hammer killer gets 30 years

Alex Matlala

Alex Matlala

A Limpopo man accused of hitting a Polokwane building contractor to death with a hammer three years ago was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment.

Johannes Matase Rakgwakgwa, 32, of Diphokeng-ga-Dikgale near Turfloop, cried and pleaded for mercy when he was sentenced at the Polokwane magistrate's court on Friday.

Rakgwakgwa and his two accomplices had pleaded guilty to murdering 59-year-old Jacobus Nicholus van Wyk of Dalmada, Polokwane in 2006.

According to police records, Rakgwakgwa connived with his accomplices Sipho Matlamela, 20, and Thelma Helen Semenya, 19, to kill Van Wyk and rob him.

Matlamela died during the course of the trial, while Semenya will be sentenced in July.

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