Manekisi Tinti Mahlangu (34) was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for shooting a motorist during a road rage incident in November 2019.

The incident occurred in Bronkhorstspruit outside Pretoria and Mahlangu was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced by the Bronkhorstspruit Regional Court last month.

Mahlangu shot a 28-year-old man in the abdomen near the Zithobeni dumping site in the far east of Pretoria, according to police spokesperson Constable Munyadziwa Cathrine Ramovha.

Ramovha said the attack ensued when the 28-year-old stopped his car on the road after he was involved in an accident. She explained Mahlangu demanded that the 28-year-old move his car off the road. “The complainant told him that he was involved an accident and that he cannot remove his vehicle.”

Ramovha said Mahlangu then started to assault the 28-year-old, beating him with his fists while two other men who were with Mahlangu, ganged up to beat the man.

The 28-year-old tried to escape Mahlangu and drove away from the accident scene but Mahlangu followed him to the dumping site, Ramovha said.

“The victim got out of the car and Mahlangu, who was carrying a firearm, shot him in his stomach.”

She said the bleeding victim managed to get back to his car and drove away while Mahlangu continued to shoot at his vehicle. Bullets pierced through the victim’s car’s windscreen.

Mahlangu was arrested shortly after the shooting, following investigations by the police.

“The police would like to warn the community on aggressive driving which is a major concern and a real threat to the safety of all road users.

“Any unsafe driving behaviour performed deliberately and with ill intention or disregard for safety, can constitute aggressive driving. In extreme cases, this may escalate to road rage, which is a violent criminal act involving the intention to cause physical harm.”

This was not the first road rage shooting that the courts recently delivered a verdict on.

Last year, Roodepoort Rekord reported the sentencing of former Johannesburg metro police officer Bongani Silence Baloyi to 18 years’ imprisonment for murder relating to an October 2019 road-rage incident near Honeydew.

This was as Baloyi shot and killed Seja Lawrence Nkwana during a heated argument between the two drivers.