Man who killed Kelly Chetty gets life plus 136 years in jail

Spamandla Buthelezi, 30, was sentenced to life in jail at the High Court in Durban on Tuesday following the murder of Kelly Chetty in May 2018, The Post reported.

Chetty was murdered during a failed hijacking while his children, a 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son, were in the car.

The victim was buying vegetables on Prince Mhlangana road in Avoca, in the north of Durban when the incident occurred.

Buthelezi was jailed for 136 years for crimes he committed in 2016, in addition to the life sentence for the murder, and will only be eligible for parole after 25 years.

Other charges against the 30-year-old following his arrest included housebreaking with intent to steal, robbery with aggravating circumstances, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Evidence in court revealed that Buthelezi and two other suspects robbed two people at gunpoint at the Lighthouse Fresh Produce grocery store before fleeing with cash, cellphones and cigarettes on 31 May 2018.

The suspects tried to hijack Chetty of his Volkswagen Golf 7 vehicle after the robbery, resulting in Chetty being shot.

Post-mortem results revealed that Chetty died as result of a multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.

The armed suspects hijacked and drove off with a Toyota Yaris after Ramalingum Chetty and Sanjay Rajcoomar surrendered.

The police saw the stolen car the next day in KwaMashu, Durban and attempted to stop the car resulting in a car chase with shots being fired back and forth.

The police shot two of the suspects in the car chase and recovered three firearms along with two 9mm semi-automatic pistols and five rounds of ammunition.

State Advocate Denado McDonald welcomed the sentence saying despite a previous conviction, Buthelezi persisted with criminal activities.

“The sentence imposed is just,” said McDonald.

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