A Johannesburg police officer has been given two life sentences for the double murder of his girlfriend and an Uber driver in May 2019.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Ndileka Cola said on Tuesday night that the police watchdog had secured the conviction of Sgt Geshwin Sweni in the Johannesburg South high court on Tuesday.

He was given 25 years for each of the murders. The sentences will run concurrently.

“Ipid has left no stone unturned as it investigated the death as a result of police action, which occurred on May 1 2019 when a police officer from the VIP protection [unit] in Johannesburg had an argument with his girlfriend at his father’s house in Edenpark.

“The girlfriend decided to leave him, and called an Uber to come and fetch her. When the Uber arrived, she left him,” said Cola.

She said that the officer then followed her and “started shooting at the Uber vehicle”.

“As he was shooting, the Uber driver lost control of the vehicle and hit a gate which was closed about Edenpark. Then the girlfriend got out of the car and tried to run away. But Sweni continued to shoot. Both his girlfriend and the Uber driver died at the crime scene,” said Cola.

The officer then drove to fetch his father, who lived in the area.

“Sweni informed his dad that he had shot his girlfriend and the boyfriend she cheated with. His father took his firearm and handed him over to the police at the station,” she said.