KZN man handed double life imprisonment for murder of taxi assistant and attempted murder of taxi boss

The tracking and tracing for the remaining two suspects is continuing.


A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to two terms of life plus 25 years in jail for the murder of a taxi assistant and attempted murder of a taxi boss in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Samkelo Dumisa appeared in the Esikhaleni Regional Court in KZN on Monday, where the sentence was handed down

He was found guilty of the murder of taxi assistant Sandiso Rasta Magwaza, the attempted murder of a taxi boss, as well as kidnapping and robbery.

Attack

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda explained the details of Dumisa’s crime.

“On 18 November 2023, a taxi owner was driving his minibus taxi full of passengers from Empangeni to Ntambanana. When the taxi arrived at the last drop-off, all passengers alighted from the taxi except for three men who remained inside.”

Netshiunda said the three men then produced firearms, tied both the taxi owner and his assistant with ropes and took them to Port Dunford beach.

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Shooting

He said the taxi boss was robbed of an undisclosed amount of money before shooting Magwaza.

“The suspects then shot and killed Rast Magwaza, before strangling and stabbing the taxi boss several times and left him for the dead. Two days after the incident, the taxi boss regained consciousness, and he was found by a traditional healer who had gone to the beach for rituals.

“He was then taken to the hospital. The body of Rasta Magwaza was found on the seashore at the same beach,” Netshiunda said.

Manhunt

Netshiunda said investigations by the Provincial Taxi Violence Unit detectives revealed that Dumisa was one of the main suspects in the incident.

“He was traced, and during his arrest, he was found in possession of a firearm and ammunition.”

Netshiunda said the tracking and tracing for the remaining two suspects, including further investigations, are continuing in the matter.

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