Durban — A KwaZulu-Natal court sentenced three robbers to life and 10 years imprisonment following their conviction on robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder.
National Prosecuting Authority KZN spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said that the Mtunzini Circuit Court sentenced Phumlani Mjaza, Musa Nelson Phahla and Sabelo Enoch Mdletshe, to life and 10 years imprisonment, following their conviction on robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder.
Ramkisson-Kara said Mjaza was sentenced to a further 10 years imprisonment for the unlawful possession of a prohibited firearm.
She said that the men knew the victim, Nduduzo Ntuli, owned a minibus taxi which he used to transport school children. Ntuli used the vehicle for this sole purpose and did not belong to any taxi association.
“In June 2020, while Ntuli was parking the vehicle at his home, in the Ndaba area of Maphumulo, he was accosted by the three men.
“They shot him in the head and then tried to remove his body from the vehicle so that they could drive it away. Family members inside the house heard the noise and went outside to see what was happening. Mjaza was caught by the family and dispossessed of the firearm, while Phahla and Mdletshe fled the scene. Mdletshe was easily identified and thus arrested as he was a relative of Ntuli. Phahla was arrested after police received information on his whereabouts,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
In court State advocate Dan Magwaza used evidence from an identity parade to positively link the men to the crime. Magwaza also handed in a Victim Impact Statement, compiled by Ntuli’s father and facilitated by court preparation officer Nombulelo Mzimela.
In his statement, the father said that Ntuli was a good and hard working person and the breadwinner for their family. He said that the murder has left his family broken and they did not know how to move on.
“The men will serve a term of life imprisonment, as the court ordered that the sentences run concurrently,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
Daily News