Johannesburg - Two men have been convicted and sentenced to 16 years in jail by the Johannesburg Regional Court for hijacking and being in possession of a stolen vehicle, police said on Wednesday.
Captain Xoli Mbele said Nkululeko Buthelezi, 22, and Thabani Gwala, 25, were found guilty of car hijacking and possession of a hijacked motor vehicle.
"For carjacking, sentenced to eight years imprisonment, possession of a hijacked motor vehicle, eight years imprisonment. Buthelezi and Gwala will serve eight years imprisonment each; count two will run concurrently with count one."
Mbele said they hijacked a 47-year-old taxi driver at Pritchard Street in Johannesburg in September 2016.
"The victim was driving a white Toyota Hi-ace transporting passengers, some of the passengers got out of the taxi at the corner of Bree and Von Weilligh Street. Two males remained inside and they pointed at him with firearms; they forced him to lie down while one of them drove the car. They stripped the dashboard searching for the tracker and they dropped the victim off at Jeppestown," she said.
Mbele said the taxi driver reported the case at the Jeppe police station and the tracking device located the car on the N3 near Heidelberg Toll plaza.
"The Vaal Rand Flying Squad stopped the vehicle and apprehended Buthelezi and Gwala. They were on their way to Durban."