KZN taxi driver's killers sentenced to 60 years in jail

Two KwaZulu-Natal men who shot a taxi driver and ran over him with his car two weeks ago were each sentenced to 60 years' imprisonment.

Nkosinathi Mathobela, 26, and Kwanele Khaya Buthelezi, 21, were sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg high court on Tuesday.

Thabani Reginald Sibisi, 32, a metered taxi driver, was killed in the early hours of November 22 on Church Street in Pietermaritzburg. 

In his plea, Mathobela said on the day of the murder he was drinking with his friend Buthelezi at a tavern in Masukwana Street, Pietermaritzburg. They called a metered taxi to drive them to buy cocaine but had to fetch money from Mathobela's home in Westgate.

Buthelezi used an application on his phone to order the taxi, despite not having money to pay for it. Sibisi responded and went to pick up the two. Mathobela sat in the front passenger seat and Buthelezi in the back seat behind Sibisi.

Mathobela said Sibisi asked him to pay upfront and he told him he would pay when Sibisi dropped him at his destination. Sibisi asked them to leave the car and an altercation ensued.

“Sibisi and the two men began fighting physically. Buthelezi became angry and took out his unlawful firearm from the waist of his pants to shoot the driver [Sibisi]. Buthelezi bought the firearm illegally for R3,500 from a friend.

“Sibisi tried grabbing the firearm. The firearm fell behind the driver’s seat. Mathobela picked it up and Sibisi tried to reach for it, but Mathobela pulled the trigger, shooting Sibisi once in his head.

“After being shot, Sibisi collapsed on the driver’s seat with his head and shoulders leaning against the window of the vehicle,” he said.

Mathobela said they decided to take the vehicle and flee the scene. Buthelezi opened the driver’s side door to push Sibisi out. Buthelezi then drove the car away, but made a U-turn and drove over Sibisi lying on the road. 

They were spotted by a security company patrolling nearby and a chase ensued until the men stopped at Pietermaritzburg Market Square and fled on foot. 

Mathobela threw the firearm into a rubbish bin but they were apprehended by the security officers. 

They were each sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment for murder, 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and 15 years for unlawful possession of a firearm. The sentences are to run concurrently.

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