Image: Julius Lucas will spend his life in prison.

A Tanzanian man who was convicted of murdering Matwetwe actor Sibusiso Khwinana has been sentenced to life in prison. Last month Julius Lucas, 36, was found guilty in Gauteng High Court in Pretoria. On Wednesday, Judge Portia Phahlane handed down the sentence for the murder. In addition to his sentence, Lucas will spend 15 more years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and eight years for contravening the Immigration Act, after it was found that he was in South Africa illegally.

 

 

 
In 2019, Lucas stabbed 24-year-old Khwinana to death during a robbery at Sterland Mall in Arcadia, Tshwane. The actor was coming out ofscreening of Matwetwe, the locally produced movie he starred in. Khwinana was trying to recover his phone that Lucas had snatched from him when a scuffle then broke out and Khwinana was stabbed in the heart. Unfortunately the actor died on the scene.

Image: Sibusiso Khwinana.

The news of the hefty sentence imposed on the foreign national have been received with pleasure from many South Africans. “Justice at last”, some say. Lucas has robbed the country of a great talent. A young talented actor gone too soon, his life taken by an illegal foreigner. The sentence should serve as an example for many other foreign nationals who think they can get away with crime in the country. Lucas will spend all his life behind bars in South Africa…far away from his homeland.

In the other news, the case against two men accused of killing Pimville resident Kgomotso Diale has been postponed to June 29 due to allow the defence’s to verify their migration status. Diale, an Operation Dudula member, was gunned down by Lesotho nationals when they were confronted about cable theft. Tebogo Molapo and Mokhabi Ngoanapudi were on Friday appearing in the Protea Magistrate’s Court today for the murder of Pimville resident Kgomotso Diale, who was killed after community members confronted Chicken Farm informal settlement residents.