Convicted killer Ivan Magokane has begged for forgiveness after he was found guilty of shooting and killing a City of Cape Town official during a fight with his girlfriend.
A year after the horrific shooting in Athlone, Magokane had been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend’s boss and attempting to kill two of her colleagues.
He returned to the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday where sentencing proceedings got underway.
The shocking shooting at the Water and Waste plant in March 2022 left City workers traumatised after Magokane opened fire indiscriminately on staff in search of his ex, Shirley Malema.
According to the indictment, the couple started dating in 2014 and got engaged a year later. In February last year, Malema dumped him and moved from Pretoria to Cape Town to start a new job.
The court documents read: “The end of their relationship was also imminent due to the consistent verbal, physical and emotional abuse.”
It further stated that Magokane would often visit Malema to see his son and put bullets in her hand, making her believe that he would kill her if she left him.
On 28 March 2022, while at work at the plant in Athlone, Malema was contacted by her colleague Johanna Mpharu Hloyi, who told her that Magokane was there to see her.
She feared for her safety and called the cops as she knew he had a firearm.
Things became heated when Hloyi tried to mediate between the couple. Magokane then pulled out a gun and shot Hloyi in the head.
He fired several shots at Malema and as two other staffers came to see what was happening, he shot and injured them.
He was subsequently found guilty by Acting Deputy Judge President Andre le Grange on one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of assault on Malema.
Taking the stand on Wednesday, Magokane, 42, started tjanking as he begged Hloyi’s family for forgiveness.
Magokane says: “On 6 April 2022 when I attended the first court appearance, I saw females [family members] of the deceased and wanted to apologise for taking their child’s life. It was not my intention, even though I was found guilty. It haunts me day and night that I have taken a life.”
However state prosecutor, Advocate Evadne Kortje, is calling for life behind bars for the heinous crimes and outlined the impact it had on Malema and her colleagues.
The prosecutor said the traumatised woman had to be moved to another plant as many believe she blamed the death of her colleague on her domestic problems.
Magokane will be sentenced today.
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