Police Sergeant Receives 17-Year Sentence for the Murder of Her Husband

A police officer from South Africa has been handed a 17-year prison sentence for the murder of her spouse.

The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria convicted Sergeant Kate Lindwe Hlongwane, 47, of the deliberate killing of her 40-year-old husband, Russel Hlongwane, a father to their three children.

Hlongwane was serving in the visible policing unit at the Dube police station in Pretoria.

Lumka Mahanjana, the regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in Gauteng, revealed that evidence presented during the trial indicated that on January 27, 2024, Hlongwane sought the assistance of a sangoma in Soshanguve, Block JJ.

Her husband was alerted when the family car's vehicle tracker indicated that it was in a high-risk area. He promptly drove to the location and discovered his wife consulting the sangoma, Mahanjana stated.

“He instructed her to return home, and they drove back to their residence in Soshanguve Extension 7 separately,” she added.

Later that night, after Russel had arrived home, he confronted Kate about her consultation with the sangoma, leading to a heated argument.

Russel told Kate that he intended to take her to his parents' house for 'discipline.'

As they prepared to leave together, a few minutes later, the couple returned home where Hlongwane shot her husband multiple times with her service firearm.

Hearing the car's return followed by the sounds of gunfire, the family's domestic worker went outside to investigate.

“She approached the policewoman, who did not respond to her inquiries about her husband's whereabouts,” Mahanjana continued.

“The worker then searched and found the deceased lying outside their gate, bleeding extensively near a neighbor's residence. A neighbor who also heard the gunshots took the victim to Akasia Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.”

Hlongwane was apprehended the following day, and the case was referred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) for further examination.

In court, Hlongwane pleaded not guilty, claiming the gun fired accidentally during a struggle with her husband.

However, the state's advocate, Vhungani Khoza, presented expert ballistics evidence that refuted her account. The ballistic expert testified that the shots were fired from a distance, which undermined Hlongwane's assertion and confirmed the state’s case beyond a reasonable doubt.

During the sentencing hearing, Hlongwane’s attorney requested leniency, highlighting her status as a first-time offender and a mother of three minor children, as well as her time spent in custody since the arrest.

Contrarily, Khoza urged for a sentence that would deliver a strong societal message. He argued that Hlongwane displayed no remorse and committed a serious act of domestic violence, a serious issue in the nation.

Khoza accentuated that as a trained police officer, Hlongwane had misused her service weapon to kill her husband.

The incident has led to profound divisions between the two families, causing Hlongwane's family to forgo attending her husband's funeral.

In his ruling, Judge Papi Mosopa noted that Hlongwane did not show remorse, observing that she failed to express regret to her deceased husband’s family even post-conviction.

Despite the court’s departure from the standard minimum sentence, the judge remarked that the sentence aimed to both penalize the offender and convey a clear message advocating for non-violent resolutions to conflicts.