JUDGE Mohini Moodley sentenced Siyabonga Nyanisa and Sibonsiso Ngcoya to 20 and 25 years imprisonment, for the brutal murder of Errol Stainer, at the Durban High Court earlier today.
The two accused, Nyanisa and Ngcoya, shot and killed Errol Stainer (67), in a hijacking outside Patrite Superette on Underwood Road, Sarnia on 24 August 2012.
They were convicted for murder and robbery at the Durban High Court on Thursday, 10 April.
Nyanisa, who was out on bail since the murder, was finally taken into custody and the case was adjourned for sentencing at the Durban High Court on 28 May, 2014, however the case was adjourned yet again to Wednesday 6 August to hear evidence in mitigation followed by sentencing on Thursday 7 August.
Judge Moodley listened to the arguments but remained adamant that the case needed to be closed, and hence continued with the sentencing today.
Nyanisa was sentenced to two counts – 10 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and 20 years for murder.
His sentences will run concurrently. Ngcoya was sentenced to four counts – 10 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances, 20 years for murder, five years for unlawful possession of a firearm and two years for unlawful possession of ammunition.
Count one and count two will run concurrently and count three and count four will also run concurrently, leaving Ngcoya to serve 25 years imprisonment.
Jenny Stainer, Errol’s wife, said she could not attend court because her husband’s murder had caused too much pain for her and her family. The emotional Jenny said it took two years to finally get justice but 25 years didn’t seem like much.
“When they took my husband’s life, I expected them to be put away for life. I can’t tell you how much I miss my husband.
“There was no goodbye for us. He was just taken away from us and for what? For nothing. He even offered those ruthless men the keys to his car, but they shot him and then repeatedly drove over him,” she cried.
“It’s not much, but I’m glad this whole court case is over now. These ruthless killers will be out before they serve their full sentence and back into society where they will kill some other poor soul,” said Jenny.
Video surveillance footage showed Errol parked his white Opel Corsa, went into Patrite Superette to buy a newspaper, and when he came out of the shop, he was surrounded by three men, one armed with a gun and wearing a blue hoodie.
Errol put his hands up to surrender but was shot twice in the stomach and fell behind the wheel of his Corsa.
The attackers jumped into the car, and in their attempt to flee, they drove and reversed over Errol’s body several times before mounting a pavement, bursting a tyre and then speeding off.
Neighbourhood watches in the Highway area were alerted of the hijacking and responded immediately.
Along with Metro and the SAPS dog units, they sealed off possible escape routes. The Corsa was found parked on a grass patch on Maurice Nichols Road.
One of the attackers (Nyanisa) ran across the M13 and was stopped in his tracks when he ran in front of a vehicle. He was arrested and taken to hospital.
The second attacker, Ngcoya, was caught in Clermont. He was wounded in a shootout with police. The third attacker was arrested in Richmond, but he was dismissed after the case went to trial.
