Estcourt businessman Mohamed Azeem Yunus was on Friday found guilty of the murder of Vinol Ramsarap by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
He was also convicted of the attempted murders of Sarah Sathar and her daughter Abitha, who were hit when Yunus shot and killed their driver, Ramsarap on the N3 highway in May 2007.
Yunus, 37, had claimed that he was on his way to Pietermaritzburg for a medical consultation when he saw Sathar's bakkie going in the same direction.
He contended that she was predisposed to violence and had a firearm, and told the court that when he saw her with a gun - in his car mirror and through tinted windows - as their vehicles levelled, he feared she would shoot him.
He submitted that he shot the vehicle nine times in self defence.
However, Sathar denied that she had a firearm with her.
She said she was travelling to the Pietermaritzburg New Prison to visit her son, who is on trial for allegedly murdering Yunus' sister Safia, and that firearms were not allowed in the prison.
She told the court that while travelling, she saw Yunus's car ahead and told Ramsarap to drive slowly as she did not want a confrontation.
However, when Yunus slowed down, she asked Ramsarap to overtake him.
As they drew level, Yunus put his hand out of his car and fired several shots at them. Sathar was wounded in the incident.
Convicting Yunus, Judge Achmat Jappie said the court believed Sathar and found it unlikely that she had a gun.
Police were on the scene soon after the shooting and had not found one.
Jappie extended Yunus's bail despite arguments that this could animosity between his family and the Sathars and that he was a flight risk.
However, he changed the bail conditions to require Yunus to report to the Estcourt police daily, instead of once a week.
The case was postponed to May 21. - Sapa