^{By REGINALD KANYANE}

^{12 November 2026 – Three former police officers have been sentenced to an effective eight years imprisonment each for kidnapping and extorting money from a Congolese national in Upington, Northern Cape. The sentence handed down by the Upington Regional Court on 12 November 2026, following the conviction of Thapelo Semamai (32), a former constable, Phillip Gaekgwathi (41), a former sergeant, and Martin Bosch (38), also a former sergeant.}

^{The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson in Northern Cape, Mojalefa Senokoatsane said the trio abused their positions of authority to intimidate and unlawfully obtain money from Ibrahim Hererimana, a Congolese national who was legally residing in South Africa. Senokoatsane said the incident occurred on the evening of 24 November 2021, when the three accused arrived at Hererimana’s residence in Upington, allegedly acting on information that drugs were being kept on the premises.}

^{“They conducted a search, but found no drugs. Instead, they discovered cash consisting of Hererimana’s personal savings, accumulated from his wages over several years, as well as a severance payment he had received following the termination of his employment contract. Rather than following lawful police procedures, the police officers took the money without arresting or charging Hererimana with any offence.}

^{“They forced him into an official police vehicle and drove him to various locations in and around Upington for several hours. During the ordeal, the police officers threatened to kill Hererimana, if he failed to hand over money, telling him that nobody would miss him because he was a foreign national,” he said.}

^{Senokoatsane further said they also threatened to have him deported. Fearing for his life, he added that, Hererimana eventually handed over R4 000 in exchange for his freedom, while Semamai additionally demanded R50, purportedly to buy food.}

^{“The accused later dropped Hererimana off at the residence of Semamai’s girlfriend. After Hererimana reported the incident to the police, the money was recovered from Gaekgwathi later that evening.}

^{“Investigations established that the accused had no legitimate operational reason to conduct patrol duties together in the Paballelo policing precinct. Semamai and Bosch were officially on duty, but assigned to the Upington precinct, while Semamai was supposed to be working at the Community Service Centre rather than performing patrol duties,” said Senokoatsane.}

^{He said Gaekgwathi was also not authorised to patrol with the other two police officers. Senokoatsane said the state argued in aggravation of sentence that the accused had abused the authority, trust and constitutional responsibilities entrusted to them as police officers.}

^{“Their conduct extended beyond unlawfully obtaining money from the victim. They misused state resources, neglected their policing responsibilities, and turned the very powers intended to protect members of the public into instruments of intimidation, harassment and personal enrichment,}

^{“The state further argued that the police officers’ actions had wider consequences for public confidence in law enforcement, as police officers are entrusted with protecting lives, enforcing the law and ensuring that everyone, irrespective of nationality or background, is treated with dignity and fairness,” he said.}

^{Senokoatsane instead, the accused exploited their positions and preyed on a person they perceived to be vulnerable. He said a Victim Impact Statement, prepared with the assistance of Court Preparation Officer Ashley Groenewald, was also presented to the court.}

^{“Hererimana described how the ordeal had left him living in fear of harassment and intimidation by law enforcement officials and had severely undermined his trust in the police, an institution constitutionally mandated to protect the public.}

^{“The court convicted all three accused of kidnapping and extortion. Each was sentenced to five years imprisonment for kidnapping and six years for extortion. However, the court ordered three years of the extortion sentence to run concurrently with the kidnapping sentence, resulting in an effective eight-year imprisonment sentence for each accused,” said Senokoatsane.}

^{He said the NPA regarded the abuse of public office by law enforcement officials as a serious betrayal of public trust. Senokoatsane said a police uniform cannot be used as a shield for criminal conduct, nor can the powers of the state be turned into tools of intimidation and personal enrichment.}

^{“The sentence reinforces the principle that no person is above the law, including those entrusted with enforcing it.}

^{“The NPA would continue to prosecute public officials who abuse their positions for criminal purposes, without fear, favour or prejudice, and ensure that those who betray public trust are held accountable,” he concluded.}

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