The KwaZulu-Natal High Court has sentenced two hitmen who were involved in the killing of two taxi owners in Nongoma to two life terms. Makhimba Buthelezi (33) and Thabani Ngwenya (36) were given an additional 14 years for attempted murder, with Buthelezi being handed another 15 years for being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and an extra two years for possession of ammunition.
According to Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala, the SAPS KZN spokesperson, 47-year-old Mzokhona Dlame was attacked by two armed men at his Nongoma homestead who then shot and killed him. Dlame sustained three gunshot wounds to the head, neck, and thigh. Police say Dlame was with another taxi owner at the time of the incident, and he managed to escape unharmed. A case of murder and attempted murder was open following the death of the taxi owner.
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In another incident at a petrol station in October 2017, 66-year-old Mthuthuzeli Mchuna was standing next to his vehicle when two suspects approached him and shot him in the head and neck, ge was rushed to hospital and was declared dead from gunshot wounds. Police say the witness was shot in the leg during the incident and was taken to hospital,
“In August 2018 Buthelezi was arrested at Maphophoma in Nongoma found in possession of an illegal firearm with nine rounds of ammunition. Ngwenya was arrested in Benoni for being in possession of an unlawful firearm. Both accused were tried in court, and it was found that they were linked to another case of murder and attempted murder at Nongoma in 2017,” said Gwala.
Source: News24, The South African, image from News24
