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The East London High court has sentenced four men to life imprisonment plus 23 years for murder, robbery, and the possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
This follows an incident in 2016 in which the gang hijacked a vehicle in Mdantsane, drove with 28-year-old Melisizwe Batyi towards East London, and then shot and killed him before dumping his body at Highgate.
They also robbed him of his belongings and drove off with his vehicle to the East London CBD.
The convicted and sentenced killers are Luthando Liba and Siphelele Majuda, both aged 25, Silumko Mdoda aged 30 and Mbongeni Simnka aged 26.
They were arrested soon after a female hitchhiker became suspicious when she noticed the men talking in code.
The woman jumped from the moving vehicle and reported the matter to police who accompanied her to Mdantsane where she spotted the car.
Police pulled them over after a brief chase and upon searching the vehicle, found blood inside and also seized a firearm and ammunition.
Captain Mluleki Mbi reports that on enquiring about the blood, the suspects confessed to having shot and killed the driver and took the police to where they had dumped the body.
