Three former police officers have each been sentenced to an effective eight years behind bars after kidnapping a Congolese national, threatening to kill and deport him, and extorting R4,000 from him in Upington, Northern Cape.
The Upington Regional Court sentenced former police constable Thapelo Semamai, 32, and former sergeants Phillip Gaekgwathi, 41, and Martin Bosch, 38, after finding them guilty of kidnapping and extortion.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the three men abused their positions as police officers to intimidate Ibrahim Hererimana, a Congolese national who was legally residing in South Africa.
Victim threatened with death and deportation
According to NPA Northern Cape spokesperson Mojalefa Senokoatsane, the incident occurred on the evening of November 24, 2021, when the three officers arrived at Hererimana’s residence in Upington, allegedly acting on information that drugs were being kept at the property.
The officers searched the premises but found no drugs. Instead, they discovered cash belonging to Hererimana, which he had saved from his wages over several years, as well as money received from a severance payment following the termination of his employment contract.
Rather than following lawful procedures, the officers took the money and forced Hererimana into an official police vehicle without arresting or charging him with any offence.
They then drove him to several locations around Upington, holding him against his will for hours.
“During the ordeal, the accused threatened to kill Hererimana if he did not hand over money, telling him that, as a foreign national, nobody would miss him. They also threatened to have him deported,” Senokoatsane said.
Fearing for his life, Hererimana eventually handed over R4,000 to secure his release.
Senokoatsane said Semamai further demanded R50, purportedly to buy food, before the officers dropped Hererimana off at Semamai’s girlfriend’s residence.
Hererimana subsequently reported the incident to police, and the money was recovered from Gaekgwathi later that evening.
Officers abused police authority
Investigations revealed that the three officers had no legitimate operational reason to be patrolling 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.
Gaekgwathi was not authorised to accompany the other two officers on patrol.
During sentencing proceedings, the State argued that the officers had betrayed the authority and trust placed in them by abusing their powers to intimidate and exploit a vulnerable individual.
“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,” Senokoatsane said.
The prosecution further argued that the officers’ actions had undermined public confidence in law enforcement and violated their responsibility to protect all individuals, regardless of nationality.
A victim impact statement, prepared with the assistance of Court Preparation Officer Ashley Groenewald, was also presented to the court.
Hererimana detailed how the ordeal had left him fearing further harassment and intimidation by law enforcement officials and severely damaged his trust in the police.
Eight years behind bars for each former officer
The court sentenced each of the three former officers to five years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and six years for extortion.
However, three years of the extortion sentence were ordered to run concurrently with the kidnapping sentence, resulting in an effective eight years’ direct imprisonment for each offender.
Senokoatsane said the NPA viewed the abuse of public office by law enforcement officials as a serious betrayal of public trust.
“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,” he said.
“The sentence reinforces the principle that no person is above the law, including those entrusted with enforcing it.”
Senokoatsane reiterated the NPA’s commitment to prosecuting public officials who exploit their positions for criminal purposes.
“The NPA will continue to prosecute public officials who abuse their positions for criminal purposes, without fear, favour, or prejudice, and will work to ensure that those who betray the public trust are held accountable.”
