THE Durban High Court sentenced Luyanda Makhanya to life imprisonment on Friday for the murder of Bolt driver Siboniso Shangase, whose decomposed body was found in the bushes at Umlazi. His alleged accomplice was acquitted of all charges.
In February 2021 Makhanya and his friend requested a ride to Queensburgh which was accepted by Shangase. The State said while on the way there the pair turned against Shangase, strangled him, tied him up and put his body in the boot of the car. After that, they got rid of his body, took his Toyota Etios and used it to go to school.
Before Judge William Nicholson sentenced Makhanya, he described his actions as inhumane and said the way they killed Shabane and disposed of his body degraded him. He said Shabane was a good guy who went to church and took care of his grandmother, whom he took to hospital every month.
Judge Nicholson said there was no excuse for what Shabane did. He said the evidence led by one of his family members portrayed him as someone who came from a good family. “You committed this crime out of greed,” he said.
Moreover, he said, the unemployment rate of this country is high, and young people who get into the e-hailing business are trying to make a living. “If incidents like this continue to happen, the e-hailing drivers would fear to go to certain areas, and this would have a bad impact on the communities and the economy of the country,” said Judge Nicholson.
He said Shabane’s job was an important one because he was helping the community. He said these kinds of crimes had made police pour more resources into solving them and that had cost a lot of money. Makhanya was sentenced to five years for kidnapping and 15 years for robbery. The sentences will run concurrently.
Shangase’s uncle, Bonga Ngezwilakhe Zondi, said the family were happy with the sentence and hoped that Makhanya would be rehabilitated. He urged police to follow all protocols when obtaining evidence. “I am not criticising the police, but maybe if all the evidence was obtained in the right way, the man was not going to be acquitted,” he said.
He said the mother of Shabane’s child could not bring herself to come to court as she was scared to go through all those painful memories again. He said Makhanya robbed them of a chance to see his nephew’s body for the last time.
He further expressed dissatisfaction with the Bolt company and said it would have made things better had they told him where his nephew was last seen when he realised something was wrong. “I had to go all over KZN looking for him because they said there was nothing they could talk to me about,” said Zondi.
He said the company should tighten its security to protect its drivers. | Sunday Tribune