Justice has caught up with former police officer Olson Mnisi, 63, who will now spend the next 36 years behind bars after being convicted of murder and attempted murder by the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Polokwane.
Mnisi, from Namakgale, was found guilty of a deadly 2018 shooting during a police operation gone shockingly wrong. He was handed a 20-year sentence for murder and 16 years for two counts of attempted murder. The court also ruled him unfit to ever own a firearm under South Africa’s Firearms Control Act.
The incident occurred on 16 September 2018, during an arrest operation targeting a suspect linked to an armed robbery at a tavern in Mashishimale Village. Mnisi, part of the SAPS team assigned to the case, suddenly turned his weapon on both the suspect and his colleague, Colonel Lesiba Gilbert Matsetela — a high-ranking officer who tried in vain to stop the assault.
Despite repeated warnings, Mnisi continued firing, critically injuring both men. Colonel Matsetela later died in hospital, sparking outrage within SAPS and the community.
Mnisi pleaded not guilty, but the court found the evidence and eyewitness accounts against him overwhelming. His conviction and sentencing were welcomed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which called it a clear message that no one — not even those in uniform — is above the law.
The tragic betrayal has left a lasting scar on SAPS ranks, where Matsetela was respected and remembered as a committed officer. For the families affected, the sentencing offers some measure of justice — even if it cannot undo the damage caused by one officer’s violent betrayal of the badge.
