According to the document read out in court, five of the six had not completed matric and have family members they look after. Here are their individual circumstances:
Phakamani Vincent Hadebe, 31
His father passed away when he was eight years old. He dropped out of school in grade 9. He is engaged and is a father of two: daughters aged four and three. He was a taxi patroller for the Kempton Park Taxi Association at the time of his arrest, where he earned about R5,000 a month. He had also inherited two taxis from his father, which earned him about R10,000 a month. He had no previous convictions.
Nhlangano Phinda Ndlovu, 29
He and his girlfriend have a three-year-old daughter. He last attended school in grade 10. He was employed as a taxi patroller at Kempton Park Taxi Association earning R2,400 a month. He paid R400 a month to support his daughter and sent some money to his mother every month. He had no previous convictions.
Sanele Mbhele, 29
He is unmarried with no children. His highest level of education was grade 11 as he failed grade 12. He worked as a taxi patroller for the Ennerdale Taxi Association before his arrest. He earned a weekly salary of R1,500. He took care of his mother and girlfriend. He had no previous convictions.
Siphakanyiswa Dladla, 27
He last attended school in grade 9. His father passed away in 2018. He has five siblings. He too was working as a taxi patroller at the time of his arrest. He earned about R3,400 a month. He also owned a taxi which earned him R10,000 a month. He had no previous convictions.
Zitha Radebe, 32
He attended school up to grade 8. He has a wife and three children and worked as a manager of a car wash operated at the Kempton Park Taxi Association rank earning R4,000 a month. He owned a taxi that generated R8,000 income a month. He was convicted in 2013 for two counts of theft and received a fine of R2,000.
Siphiwe Thabane Mazibuko, 30
Has a daughter who lives in KwaZulu-Natal with a female family member. He paid R1,500 a month maintenance towards his child and lived with his grandmother before he was arrested. He was self-employed and owned two cars which he used to transport clients. He made about R20,000 a month. He had no precious convictions.
TimesLIVE
Deokaran hitmen are fathers, school dropouts who earned income as taxi owners and patrollers
Image: Thulani Mbele
The family circumstances and backgrounds of the hired hitmen, now serving time for the assassination of corruption whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, have been revealed in the plea deal they reached in the Johannesburg high court.
Phakamani Hadebe, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Sanele Mbhele, Siphakanyiswa Dladla, Zitha Radebe and Siphiwe Mazibuko were sentenced from six to 22 years in prison on Tuesday, the eve of the two-year commemoration of the murder.
They were represented for part of the trial by top lawyers including Menzi Simelane, a former director of prosecutions who was appointed to the post by ex-president Jacob Zuma in 2009, and former prosecutor advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa, who was an acting director of public prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal. The other lawyer was advocate Sanele Sibisi.
'Hitmen' plead guilty to murdering whistle-blower Babita Deokaran
According to the document read out in court, five of the six had not completed matric and have family members they look after. Here are their individual circumstances:
Phakamani Vincent Hadebe, 31
His father passed away when he was eight years old. He dropped out of school in grade 9. He is engaged and is a father of two: daughters aged four and three. He was a taxi patroller for the Kempton Park Taxi Association at the time of his arrest, where he earned about R5,000 a month. He had also inherited two taxis from his father, which earned him about R10,000 a month. He had no previous convictions.
Nhlangano Phinda Ndlovu, 29
He and his girlfriend have a three-year-old daughter. He last attended school in grade 10. He was employed as a taxi patroller at Kempton Park Taxi Association earning R2,400 a month. He paid R400 a month to support his daughter and sent some money to his mother every month. He had no previous convictions.
Sanele Mbhele, 29
He is unmarried with no children. His highest level of education was grade 11 as he failed grade 12. He worked as a taxi patroller for the Ennerdale Taxi Association before his arrest. He earned a weekly salary of R1,500. He took care of his mother and girlfriend. He had no previous convictions.
Siphakanyiswa Dladla, 27
He last attended school in grade 9. His father passed away in 2018. He has five siblings. He too was working as a taxi patroller at the time of his arrest. He earned about R3,400 a month. He also owned a taxi which earned him R10,000 a month. He had no previous convictions.
Zitha Radebe, 32
He attended school up to grade 8. He has a wife and three children and worked as a manager of a car wash operated at the Kempton Park Taxi Association rank earning R4,000 a month. He owned a taxi that generated R8,000 income a month. He was convicted in 2013 for two counts of theft and received a fine of R2,000.
Siphiwe Thabane Mazibuko, 30
Has a daughter who lives in KwaZulu-Natal with a female family member. He paid R1,500 a month maintenance towards his child and lived with his grandmother before he was arrested. He was self-employed and owned two cars which he used to transport clients. He made about R20,000 a month. He had no precious convictions.
TimesLIVE
READ MORE:
Two years on, whistle-blower Babita Deokaran’s killer remains free
Hugs, handshakes and high-fives for Babita Deokaran's killers as they start jail time
‘Apology not accepted,’ Babita Deokaran’s family tell killers jailed for 22, 15 and 6 years
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