KZN Man Gets 25-Year Sentence for Murder of Cab Driver, Tells Court He Needed Money For Kid's Birthday Party

• A KwaZulu-Natal man who confessed to the murder of a cab driver says he committed the crime because he needed money
• The man told the court that a friend of his suggested they steal a car because he knew a buyer
• The man has been sentenced to a whopping 25 years behind bars for the murder and robbery

DURBAN - A KwaZulu-Natal man who robbed and murdered a cab driver, because he needed money for his daughter's birthday party has been handed a hefty sentence for his crimes.

Siyanda Mfundo Mahlambi, aged 23, pleaded guilty to the murder of 48-year-old taxi driver Sihle Ismael Malembe on 6 February 2023.

KZN man plotted to steal a car with his friend

IOL reports that during sentencing, Mahlambi said he and a friend plotted to steal a car because the friend said he knew a buyer. Mahlambi told the court that he agreed to the scheme because he was desperate to get money for his child's birthday.

Read also

Cape Town clinic security guards robbed at gunpoint by criminals pretending to be wheelchair-bound patients

The pair drank at a tavern on the day of the murder before heading to a shopping mall. At the mall, the pair asked Malembe to take them to the Ntendeko area in Madadeni to fetch the children, and he charged them R200 for the trip.

On the trip, the friend asked the cab driver to stop because he needed to urinate, but as soon as the car stopped, the friend strangled Malembe with a shoelace.

The cab driver struggled, and the friend used his hands to kill the driver. The pair then dumped the cab driver's body in a nearby river. The pair were arrested after the police spotted blood on the vehicle on their way to the buyer.

Mahlambi confessed to the crime and even led to the police to the area they dumped the body. He has been sentenced to 25 years in prison, 25 years for the murder and 15 years for the robbery.

Read also

Prasa ordered to pay R350 million for neglecting injured Cape Town schoolboy on the track for hours

Cape Town minibus driver hailed a hero for catching robbers

In Cape Town, a minibus driver has been hailed a hero for catching criminals who robbed passengers in a minibus taxi.

According to News24, a taxi driver was accosted by three criminals when he stopped at traffic lights at the corner of Hlathi Drive and Solomon Street in Asanda Village. They stole his cell phone and wallet at gunpoint.

They proceeded to rob the rest of the passengers before fleeing on foot. The robbery victims flagged down a taxi driver passing by and told him what happened.

The brave taxi driver chased down two of the criminals and apprehended them before handing them over to the police.

The third suspect handed himself to the police after his accomplices were caught and acknowledged his involvement in the armed robbery.

2 KZN men who murdered a meter taxi driver over ride fare sentence to 60 years in jail each

Read also

Limpopo family demands answers after son dies in police custody, SA speculates

Briefly News previously reported that two men from KwaZulu-Natal who fatally shot a meter taxi driver and ran him over with his car were handed 60-year sentences but the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Tuesday, 6 November 2022.

Nkosinathi Mathobela and Kwanele Khaya Buthelezi killed Thabani Reginald Sibisi in the wee hours of 22 November 2022 when Buthelezi ordered a ride on an application but did not have the cash to pay for it.

The taxi driver, Sibisi, demanded that the passengers pay for the ride up front, but Matthobela told the taxi driver they would pay when they reached their destination. Unsatisfied with the answers, Sibisi asked Mathobela and Buthelezi to leave the care, and an altercation broke out.

Source: Briefly News