Acting provincial commissioner of Police in Gauteng, Major General Girly Mbele has welcomed the hefty sentencing of Roy Mlungisi Ndawonde, convicted of taxi violence related offences.
Mbele said the work of a team of detectives secured the lengthy sentence that was handed down on Monday at the South Gauteng High Court. The 49-year-old Ndawonde was sentenced to 80 years’ imprisonment for multiple charges related to a taxi violence that which include murder, theft, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition.
“Ndawonde was found guilty for the murder of 34-year-old Nomsa Makhanya; she was a member of Kempton Park Taxi Association. On Tuesday, 28 March 2019 Ndawonde accosted his victim Makhanya near her home in Tembisa; she was with her daughters at the time. Makhanya died at the scene due to multiple gunshot wounds,” police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello said.
Sello said that the case was assigned to Sergeant Mokgola Rapetswa, a detective based at the Gauteng provincial head office, Organised Crime Investigations (OCI). Rapetswa immediately commenced with the investigation and teamed up with Sergeant Mandla Masondo and Sergeant Bhekumuzi Dlamini in solving the case.
Sello said that Rapetswa meticulously pieced all the available evidence together which led the team to an address in Vosloorus where Ndawonde was arrested.
“The team also recovered a hijacked vehicle, an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Through the application of forensic techniques it was confirmed that the recovered firearm is positively linked to the murder of Nomsa Makhanya,” Sello said.
“Serious and violent crime, especially within the taxi industry is a top priority for police in Gauteng. Sergeant Mokgola Rapetswa and his team are commended for leaving no stone unturned in solving this case. Quality work ethic displayed by our members will restore the communities’ faith in the South African Police Service,” Mbele said.
Last year MEC for the Department of Roads and Transport Jacob Mamabolo told the Star that he was worried that 500 murder cases reported by the commission of inquiry into taxi violence were still not resolved.
He said he was concerned that this meant that there were 500 people who were killers walking the streets.
What also alarmed him was the militarised nature of the taxi industry and he had even gone as far as getting a court interdict to make sure that some security companies do not operate in the taxi industry.
Moreover besides the 500 cases Mamabolo said there were also lots of cases for which there were closed files.