Durban - A Greytown teen was sentenced to an effective 18 years in prison for two hijackings and two attempted murders that ruined the lives of his victims.
Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Rishi Seegobin sentenced Sifiso Gumede, 19, to 13 years for each aggravated robbery (hijacking) and five years on each of the attempted murders.
The sentences on two counts were ordered to run concurrently, giving Gumede an effective 18-year sentence.
The judge said that while Gumede was a young man who had pleaded guilty and displayed genuine remorse, the aggravating features of the case could not be ignored.
“These crimes were committed in a brazen fashion with firearms. Two victims were shot indiscriminately and robbed of their vehicles and possessions,” the judge said, adding that victim impact statements submitted to the court indicated that the lives of the victims had changed completely after the incidents.
“Both victims have suffered emotional, psychological and physical trauma. Their loss cannot be quantified in terms of money. The only thing they seek now is justice,” Seegobin said.
Gumede pleaded guilty to the four charges against him.
He admitted that on July 9, last year, in Greytown, he was with his accomplice, Siyabonga Ntshangase (now deceased).
“We were hitchhiking on the R33 main road that runs between Pietermaritzburg and Greytown. A silver Toyota Tazz driven by a man stopped to give us a lift,” Gumede said, adding that prior to boarding the vehicle, he and Ntshangase had conspired to rob the driver, Msizi Dladla, of his car.
Ntshangase was armed with a firearm.
Dladla was asked to stop the car along the route on the pretext of dropping off Ntshangase. Instead, he was shot in the arm and tied to a tree and robbed of his car. A female passenger in the car was robbed of her cellphone and cash.
In the second incident, on November 27 last year, Gumede and Ntshangase boarded a Toyota Hi-Ace taxi driven by Mandla Mchunu.
After the other commuters alighted the taxi, and when the pair were alone in the taxi with Mchunu, they shot him several times, demanding the taxi.
Mchunu, also armed, returned fire and managed to drive to a nearby school. However the pair overpowered Mchunu and fled in the taxi.
Mchunu said the incident had caused him severe emotional trauma.
Physically, he had endured several operations to remove bullets from his body and was in constant pain. He was also unable to use the toilet as normal and was assisted by means of a “bag”.
Mchunu said this caused him great embarrassment.
He still has to go to hospital for regular treatments and check-ups. As a result of the shooting, Mchunu is currently unemployed.
Dladla said after the incident he had become financially unstable. He said the psychological effects had been severe as he woke up scared in the middle of the night and could still hear the gunshot.
Daily News