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04 News | 19 May 2023
Ceramic industries’ integrated approach
towards responsible corporate citizenship
Lesotho
national
sentenced
for murder
of elderly
couple in
Christiana
By Thys Khiba
Steered by effective leadership
towards responsible corporate
responsibility, Ceramic Industries is
conscious of the collective challenges our
nation faces and intentional in its approach
to create meaningful and sustainable
interventions which promotes the social
and economic development of previously
disadvantaged individuals.
Through building better futures
programme Ceramic Industries strives to
create meaningful and sustainable value,
supporting programmes that improve the
quality of education, empower the youth,
and support inclusive development in
communities. Their education programmes
are aimed at the vision to produce well
rounded learners. Literacy is an integral
part of education and lifelong learning
premised on humanism as defined by
Sustainable Development Goal 4.
In response to the challenging situation,
Ceramic industries Building Better
Futures programme focuses on eradicating
illiteracy as well as assisting in restoring
dignity among chadren in the ECD level
from lower income backgrounds. This is
executed through our READ for meaning
programme in the form of provision of
mini ibraries, ECD teacher training on
“learn through play”- an initiative aimed
at addressing and developing logic and
reasoning skills for EOD learners and
providing the schools with educational and
therapeutic products as well as provision
el school uniform annually.
Coupled with the Building Better Futures
programme at ECD’s and Primary
Schools is their annual Ablution Dignity
programme which assists their partner
ECD centres and primary schools with
new and refurbished ablution facilities
because they believe lack of access to
clean ablution facility raises a barrier to
learning and the health and Safety risk at
schools.
Murderers Quinton Brits, 38, and Mabote
Ernest Lishea, 31, have been sentenced to
life for killing an elderly couple in their
shop in Christiana, in North West.
Brits, and Lesotho national, Lishea were
sentenced to two life imprisonment by
the High Court of South Africa; North
West Division, sitting at the Klerksdorp
Regional Court.
Judge Samkelo Gura also sentenced the
two to 5 years for housebreaking with
intent to rob and a further 15 years for
robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Brits was arrested on 01 September 2020
at Jan Kempdorp.
Police investigations confirmed some
items were found on him, and later
identified by the daughter of the deceased
as stolen.
Brits subsequently took the police to a
house in Christiana, where the loot was
shared.
Meanwhile, Lishea was arrested on 03
September 2020 at Durban Deep near
Roodepoort, in the Gauteng province.
During the arrest, police found items that
were stolen in the shop during the robbery.
According to the spokesperson for the
North West NPA, Henry Mamothame,
their conviction emanates from an incident
that occurred on the morning of 30 August
2020, at a Madeira Shop in Christiana,
whereat two customers found an elderly
couple murdered in their shop.
“The two immediately notified the police
of the incident, and they found the place
to be in disarray, with the husband tied
with cable ties, dried blood on both the
couple’s noses, and money tills opened.
“The daughter of the deceased later came
and confirmed the cellphones and money
to be missing. Post-mortem reports
revealed that the elderly woman died as
a result of strangulation, while the elderly
man died as a result of coronary artery
disease,” said Mamothame.
In Court, the two pleaded not guilty to the
offence.
The state prosecutor, Adv Kgalalelo
Molefe, urged the court not to deviate
from the minimum prescribed sentence of
life imprisonment on each of the counts
of murder.
Molefe urged the court to consider the
seriousness of the offence as the victims
were elderly people and further pleaded
that it impose a sentence that would serve
as a deterrent.
Judge Gura, agreed with the state and
imposed a double life imprisonment and
20 years for each accused.