Two men sentenced to life for murder of Sebokeng police officer

SEBOKENG - The Johannesburg High Court has sentenced 29-year-old Cheston Solomons and 31-year-old Delano Dearlings to life imprisonment for the 2020 killing of Sergeant Mellita Lydia Moamohe of Sebokeng SAPS. On 21 April 2020, officers responding to Operation O Kae Molao spotted a person being forced into a car boot along Crystal Street, Waldrift, Vereeniging. When they intervened, the suspects opened fire, fatally wounding Sergeant Moamohe, who later died at Kopanong Hospital. A joint investigation by the Hawks, Vereeniging SAPS, and Johannesburg Metro Police led to the arrest of four suspects between May and August 2020. Co-accused Krystal Hill, became a state witness, while Patrick Samuels entered a plea agreement in April 2021 and received 15 years in prison. On 15 August 2025, Solomons and Dearlings were found guilty of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, two counts of attempted murder, and possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition. All sentences will run concurrently with the life term. Brigadier Phumeza Klaas of the Hawks praised the investigation and the justice served.