Four-and-a-half years of detailed investigations and court appearances paid off greatly when Thulani Japhson Mzotho (55) and Siphamandla Bright Shabane (36) were finally both handed a life sentence in the Port St Johns Regional Magistrates’ Court on February 22, 2021.
Mzotho and Shabane, who also had previous convictions, were convicted for robbery of motor vehicle with aggravating circumstances, and were effectively sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery and five years for kidnapping.
They were acquitted on the charge of possession of stolen vehicle.
On August 8, 2017, a case was registered at SAPS Gamalakhe where a taxi and the driver were missing.
A week later the vehicle was recovered in Mthatha the Eastern Cape already stripped.
Sadly police found the body of the 37-year-old driver in a storm water drain in Port St Johns. The deceased sustained at least 33 stab wounds.
Two arrests were made in Umtata as well as in Gamalakhe by members of the Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit (VCIU) on August 18, 2017.
The investigating officer, Detective Captain Adam Draai of Port Shepstone VCIU strongly opposed bail and the accused remained in custody throughout their trial.
Police spokesman Captain Petros Mpinge said Captain Draai, with many years of detective experience, worked closely with the public prosecutor to obtain the maximum sentence for this cold blooded murder.
Court evidence revealed that the murder was based on the greed of the accused as the vehicle was quickly sold after the victim was killed.
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