Makofane was sentenced on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, following a series of shooting incidents organised against people in the taxi business. The court heard how in the evening of March 11, 2021, at  around 19:00, his first victim was a taxi owner who was driving in a Toyota Quantum, transporting the staff from Pretoria.

It is said that starting from Eastlyn in Pretoria, his minibus was followed by another kombi of which he managed to recognise the accused, known to him as “Morwa” as the driver of the minibus at the time.

It is further said that at some stage, the accused was a taxi driver at Kwamhlanga.

When the victim approached his residence at Kwamhlanga, he saw the accused standing at the corner with another person.

It was during this time when the accused opened fire and shot at the victim who sustained some injuries. The victim was then taken to hospital for medical treatment.

The matter was reported to the Police at Kwamhlanga where an attempted murder case was opened.

The accused was also involved in another shooting incident at Tweefonein on May 20, 2021, whereby two victims, one being the taxi owner and the other being member of a taxi association were travelling in an Opel Corsa bakkie driven by the taxi owner.

It is said that as they came next to Miliva Circle, the two realized that they were followed by a white Ford Fiesta but they realised that the driver of the Ford Fiesta was the one known to them as “Morwa”.

As this vehicle came closer, it drove parallel to theirs and at that moment, the occupants who were armed, started firing shots at them. The victims in this incident sustained some injuries and were taken to hospital for medical treatment.

The Police at Tweefonein were notified about the incident whereby a case with two counts of attempted murder was opened and investigated.

The court further heard that on June 5, 2021, at around 13:00 the accused was involved again in another deadly shooting of victims from the taxi industry.

On that fateful day, two brothers were at their parental home at Siyabuswa, sitting outside together when a white Ford Fiesta emerged and its occupants started firing shots at them.

During this incident, Mr Moses Skhosana (38) was unfortunately killed, whilst his brother sustained some injuries and was taken to hospital.

A case with a count of murder and attempted murder was opened then after an investigation was conducted, Makofane was traced and arrested.

He was charged accordingly in relation to the outlined shooting incident. The state prepared a watertight case against the accused hence he was convicted and sentenced as follows:

On a count of murder, the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment. In addition to this sentenced, the accused was given 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder.

Meanwhile on another count of attempted murder, the accused was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. On the third count of attempted murder, the accused was also sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

The accused was acquitted for another count of attempted murder due to the fact that the victim did not show up in court to testify. On the count of possession of unlicensed firearm, the accused was sentenced to five years imprisonment. For a count of possession of unlicensed ammunition, the accused was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

The accused was further declared unfit to possess a firearm.

The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has further applauded the Investigation team, the Prosecution team and the Judiciary for their collaborative efforts which culminated into this enormous sentence which will hopefully serve as a deterrence to other perpetrators of crime in the taxi industry.