A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to six years in prison for the attempted murder of a hitchhiker he attacked after offering him a lift in 2023.

Zandile Khumalo was found guilty of the attempted murder of Pomeroy hitchhiker Patrick Khanyile in the Dundee Regional Court.

The court heard that Khumalo and a colleague were delivering goods for a hardware store in the Uitval area when they stopped to offer Khanyile a lift.

A quarrel broke out, during which Khumalo attacked Khanyile with a beer bottle.

After Khanyile managed to wrestle the bottle from him, Khumalo opened one of the vehicle’s doors and threw him onto the road.

Khanyile sustained various injuries in the incident.

Magistrate Moodley found that Khumalo had shown no remorse for his actions during his testimony and sentenced him to six years’ imprisonment.

Khumalo was also declared unfit to possess a firearm in terms of the Firearms Control A