South African traffic officer sentenced to life imprisonment for gunning down his wife in front of their young children

A traffic officer has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the premeditated m8rder of his wife in South Africa.

 Zakhele Bennet Hlongwane shot his 33-year-old wife, Desire Tili Ngobeni, multiple times in front of their two young children at her home in Mamelodi, Gauteng.

The Pretoria High Court sentenced the 53-year-old provincial traffic officer on Friday.

Gauteng regional spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Lumka Mahanjana said Hlongwane also received five years for pointing a firearm and two years for malicious property damage. The sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve life imprisonment.

The court further declared Hlongwane unfit to possess a firearm.

According to Mahanjana, the incident happened on 1 April 2024, when Hlongwane went to Ngobeni’s parental home at around 5 am. He broke down the door to her room and opened fire, k!lling her in front of their three and five-year-old children.

After hearing the gunshots, Ngobeni’s cousin came out of his room, but Hlongwane pointed the firearm at him before fleeing. About an hour later, he handed himself over to the Mamelodi police station and has remained in custody since the NPA successfully opposed his bail.

In court, Hlongwane pleaded guilty to m8rder and pointing a firearm, claiming he acted out of anger and had not planned to k!ll his wife. His defence asked the court for leniency, arguing that he was a first-time offender who had shown remorse by writing apology letters to the victim’s family and the community

However, State Advocate Vusimuzi Tshabalala argued that Hlongwane’s apologies were mere expressions of regret rather than genuine remorse, as they were only made after conviction. He said that as a law enforcement officer, husband, and father, Hlongwane had a duty to protect his family and uphold the law — not to destroy both.

In delivering judgment, Judge Mashudu Munzhelele agreed with the State, describing the crime as “extremely brutal and careless.”

The court said Hlongwane had failed to show genuine remorse and that there were no substantial or compelling reasons to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence.

“As a law enforcement official, he was expected to uphold the law and not violate it as he did. Imposing a lesser sentence would undermine the severity of this offence,” Munzhelele said.

Meanwhile, acting director of public prosecutions in Gauteng, advocate Marika Jansen van Vuuren, commended the work of the prosecutor, stating: “It can never be overemphasised how important human life is. The NPA will continue to pursue such cases vigorously to ensure justice for victims and to serve as a deterrent to would-be offenders.”