‘Act of vengeance’ leads to guilty verdict

After evading arrest for almost 10 years, a Nongoma man has been found guilty of a revenge killing that occurred in 2013.

Mtubatuba High Court on Wednesday found Vumani Xhakaza (33) guilty of an ‘act of vengeance’ for the murder of Muntu Buthelezi.

The presiding officer described the murder as an ‘act of vengeance’ as the deceased had been accused of transporting hitmen who are alleged to have murdered three of Xhakaza’s family members.

According to Victor Buthelezi, brother of the deceased, the murder was the culmination of a protracted taxi route dispute that had caused ‘much damage’ to his family, resulting in as many as 10 deaths and others left with permanent injuries.

Buthelezi said the conviction would bring tears of joy to his family’s matriarchs.

Handing down judgment, the presiding officer said the evidence was clear that the murder was planned and premeditated, ‘although there was no direct evidence’ that Xhakaza fired the fatal shots.

He said the witness testimonies of a Dr Masuku and Sibusiso Ndwandwe, who is doing jail time for the same murder, corroborated each other and made it clear that Xhakaza was guilty of the murder.

The two State witnesses testified that Xhakaza and another had alighted from a taxi driven by Ndwandwe, and jumped over the perimeter fence of Buthelezi’s home, returning a few moments later, running back towards the vehicle, both armed with pistols.

The presiding officer said he had no hesitation in accepting Masuku’s evidence as being ‘credible and reliable’, as he answered ‘frankly and honestly’ and had not exaggerated his evidence, even when the opportunity arose.

The presiding officer also pointed out that, while Ndwandwe made a ‘vain’ attempt to protect Xhakaza by trying to mislead the court that he was not the one he had mentioned in a sworn statement, one ‘telling’ piece of evidence, which left ‘no doubt’ that the person in the dock was indeed the accused, was that the investigating officer testified that Xhakaza attended the funeral of his three family members who were murdered in Johannesburg.

“This made it clear that the motive for killing Muntu Buthelezi was an act of vengeance,” said the presiding officer.

During the trial, Xhakaza did not challenge the State’s evidence, and opted to remain silent.

The court heard that Xhakaza was fetched by the investigating officer from a prison in Gauteng on 13 May 2022 to be charged for Buthelezi’s murder in Nongoma.

This after the investigating officer learnt of Xhakaza’s arrest and that he had changed his name to Senzo Sibiya to evade being arrested for this matter.

During the trial, Xhakaza denied he had been with Masuku in a taxi on the day of the murder; that he had been in possession of a gun; and he said Masuku was implicating him for a crime he had no knowledge of for reasons unknown to him. He also denied Masuku knew him.

Buthelezi’s wife gave testimony that two men had entered her two-roomed home and immediately fired shots at her husband.

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