More than 150 years prison sentence for Montclair hijackers

The strong arm of the law caught up with two hijackers, who went on a number of hijacking sprees in Montclair, recently.

Sphamandla Sithole and Sizwe Mkhungo were sentenced to 155 years imprisonment in the Durban Regional Court for the heinous crimes they committed.

In the first incident, which occurred in August 2018, an e-hailing taxi driver was hijacked after the two men requested a taxi ride. It is alleged that they tried to put him in the boot of the car but the man managed to escape. The perpetrators sped off with his vehicle.

“In another incident, they hijacked two victims and also took their cellphones and other belongings. On the third occasion, the victim was hijacked and thrown into the boot of her car. The men drove around with her for some time before releasing her,” said National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson, Natasha Kara.

She further stated that the last victim was hijacked by Mkhungo only.

“He accosted her outside her house, demanding her car keys. Even though she handed over the keys, he tried to enter her house but she blocked his way and alerted the people inside, causing him to flee in her car,” Kara added.

The men were apprehended after police officers were following up on the information they had received.

They were put in an identity parade and were positively identified by the victims.

“Regional court prosecutor, Surekha Marimuthu, led the evidence of the identity parade as well as vehicle tracking records which linked them to the crimes. Marimuthu also handed in victim impact statements compiled by the victims and facilitated by court preparation officer, Nondumiso Nyembe. In their statements, the victims spoke of the trauma and horror they went through when they were attacked by the accused. They said they feared for their lives,” said Kara.

Sithole was sentenced to 85 years (effectively 40 years as some sentences run concurrently) while Mkhungo received a sentence of 70 years (effectively 25 years).

The NPA welcomed the sentence and convictions.