Life sentence plus 15 years for man who caused Sadia Sukhraj's death

Sibonelo Mkhize, the man accused of the murder of nine-year-old Sadia Sukhraj, was handed a life imprisonment for two murders and 15 years for aggravated robbery following a botched hijacking in Shallcross, Chatsworth, in May 2018.

Mkhize was convicted on Monday by Durban High Court judge Esther Steyn of aggravated robbery for the hijacking and the murders of Sadia Sukhraj and his accomplice, Siyabonga Bulose.

The murder convictions were based on the doctrine of common purpose, because it was common cause that Sadia’s father, Shailendra Sukhraj, fired the fatal shots in an attempt to stop the car and save his daughter.

Although Mkhize, 39, did not pull the trigger of the gun that killed Sadia, Steyn on Monday found him guilty of the schoolgirl’s murder as well as that of Bulose.

Under laws of common purpose, an accused can be held to account for crimes he or she did not commit if by their own conduct they must have foreseen that the crimes could have been committed.

Mkhize’s advocate, Sizwe Masondo, argued in mitigation of sentence that this finding constituted substantial and compelling circumstances to allow judge Steyn to deviate from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

However, on Wednesday, Steyn said given the violence of the crime, these sentences were "proportionate".

She says this means he will serve 25 years before being considered for parole "so there is light at the end of the tunnel".

As the sentence was being handed down, Sadia's parents, Shailendra and Lorraine, wept while Mkhize - who is going to apply for leave to appeal - smirked several times.

The judge praised the off-duty policeman who arrested Mkhize, Warrant Officer Hemant Raghoonundan, who was in court, because he had "gone the extra mile".

"If it was not for him, Sadia could have just become another unsolved crime statistic."

After the sentencing, Shailendra also thanked Raghoonundan and the public for all their support.

He said he had always had full confidence in the criminal justice system.

Mkhize, who is 29 and a father of four, denied that he committed the offences and has shown no remorse.