Mediamec The Ficksburg High Court has handed life sentences to two Lesotho nationals convicted of killing two men in a shooting near the Maseru Bridge border post in the Free State.
Tumelo Tsiu, 32, and Lineo Walatsa, 30, were sentenced on 23 October 2026 after being found guilty of two murders and two attempted murders. Each also received a nine-month prison sentence for violating the Immigration Act.
The court acquitted both of possessing an unlicensed firearm and conspiring to commit murder.
The shooting took place on 11 June 2024 at a drop-off area for long-distance taxis near the port of entry. Police responding to reports of gunfire found Moholi Mohapi, 31, also known as “Bohome”, and Rebone David Sephaka, 40, known as “Serurubele”, dead beside the taxi they had just exited.
According to police, gunmen emerged from a white Isuzu bakkie and fired at passengers getting out of a taxi from Johannesburg. The attackers then fled in the bakkie.
The attempted murder convictions concerned two other men, identified as Mr Sekantsi and Mr Pitso.
Ladybrand police later stopped the bakkie on the R26 near Manyatseng. Two suspects escaped into the darkness, while the driver remained behind. Officers searched the vehicle and seized a 9mm firearm.
The driver, Seun Gert Moloi, 30, was arrested and subsequently granted R8,000 bail by the Ladybrand Magistrate’s Court. Free State police spokesperson Sergeant Sinah Mpakane said Moloi was shot five times and died two weeks before the trial began.
Mpakane said Tsiu and Walatsa were arrested in Lesotho in July 2024 and later extradited to South Africa. Their extradition followed months of cooperation between police in both countries through international legal processes.
The case came before the Ladybrand Magistrate’s Court on 7 January 2025 and was postponed to 13 January for legal representation to be arranged.
Warrant Officer M.D. Machalotsa investigated the case, Advocate Lucky Bontes led the prosecution and Judge Mbhele presided over the trial.
