A 38-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday for a murder he committed in 2021 during the violent July unrest in Kwazulu Natal in 2021.
Amidst all the looting and public violence, Joel Pillay, who was driving in a marked security vehicle, saw the victim, Lindani Mthethwa walking on Ireland Street in Verulam.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Natasha Ramkisson Kara says Pillay turned his vehicle around and drove back towards Mthethwa, where he pulled down his window and shot him.
She says the state secured a conviction from the statements and testimony of two eyewitnesses and the details of the tracking device in the car Pillay was driving.
The Prosecutor Advocate Thabani Buthelezi also submitted a 'Victim Impact Statement' compiled by Mthethwa’s sister in which she says that Mthethwa was a responsible and hardworking person.
She said that her family has been financially and emotionally affected as the traumatic incident still gave her flashbacks.
In sentencing Pillay, the court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment, citing that he was a first offender when he committed the offence.
