Thembelani Headman Dlamini (44), known as ‘Bhakede’, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder.
He was sentenced last week in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for the murder of Mmeli Gift Xaba.
He was also sentenced for attempted murder, extortion, as well as possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
In addition to the life sentence for murder, Dlamini was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for the attempted murder, 20 years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition, and 15 years for extortion.
The court heard that Dlamini, a policeman turned hitman, had worked in the crime intelligence unit before becoming a taxi owner.
In 2019, Dlamini was with a friend when they were shot at. He survived the attack but his friend was killed.
He suspected his relative and associate, Mmeli Gift Xaba, of orchestrating the attack and told several people that he would avenge his friend’s death.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, said that, in September 2019, Xaba was at a petrol station in the Harding area, when Dlamini arrived on the scene and shot him several times, in full view of many people.
Xaba and the person he was with were injured and rushed to a nearby hospital, where Xaba died.
Dlamini was also convicted on a charge of extortion, for threatening to kill members of the Bambanani Taxi Association if they did not pay him an amount of R50 000, to deter other taxi associations.
“He wanted them to allow him to run his taxis without paying the association’s joining fee of R40 000. Further, he demanded they pay him between R50 and R100 per taxi per day. To coerce them to pay him, he enlisted the assistance of heavily armed men, who would threaten them into submission. Dlamini was arrested following intense investigations,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
He often used a bucket to collect the money, hence the nickname Bhakede.
In court, the State was represented by Senior State Advocates Lawrence Gcaba and Elvis Gcweka who led the evidence of several eyewitnesses and members of the taxi association. The State also handed in a victim impact statement compiled by Xaba’s mother.
She said she has struggled to cope since her son’s death, especially now being responsible for his children.
She said her daughter (Xaba’s sister) died a few weeks after him, as she was heartbroken and could not deal with his death.
The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. Further, the court deemed him unfit to possess a firearm.
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