Timeslive reports that a soldier who shot dead his girlfriend while they were both deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has failed in his appeal against a 20-year sentence for murder.  

The Court of Military Appeal upheld the decision of a military judge who convicted Private Elias Mogaki of murdering Private Nomathemba Ngeleka in Goma on 27 October 2017.  After shooting his girlfriend of five years‚ a single mother and fellow member of 5 South African Infantry Battalion based in Ladysmith‚ Mogaki shot himself in a failed suicide bid.  After recovering, Mogaki was tried and sentenced in June.  He is currently detained at the military detention barracks in Bloemfontein and the SANDF is in the process of dishonourably discharging him.  “On completion of the required administrative processes‚ he will be transferred and handed over to the Rustenburg Correctional Services facility where he will serve his 20-year prison sentence,” a SANDF spokesperson indicated.

• Read this report by Dave Chambers in full at Timeslive

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