Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
29 September 2023
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has welcomed a hefty sentence imposed by the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court which was sitting in Middelburg upon, Tshegofatso Richmond Makofane (36), a murderer who targeted victims in the taxi industry.
Makofane was sentenced on Wednesday, 27 September 2023 following a series of shooting incidents organized against people in the taxi industry.
The court was notified about the evening of 11 March 2021 at about 19h00, his first victim was a taxi owner who was driving in a Toyota Quantum, transporting the staff from Pretoria.
It is said that starting from Eastlyn in Pretoria, his minibus was followed by another minibus of which he managed to recognize the accused, known to him as “Morwa” as the driver of the minibus at the time.
It is further alleged that at some stage, the accused was a taxi driver at Kwamhlanga.
When the victim approached his residence at Kwamhlanga, he saw the accused standing at the corner with another person.
It was during this time when the accused opened fire and shot at the victim who sustained injuries.
The victim was then transported to the hospital for medical treatment.
The matter was reported to the Police at Kwamhlanga where an attempted murder case was opened.
The accused was also involved in another shooting incident at Tweefonein on 20 May 2021 whereby two victims, one being the taxi owner and the other being members of a taxi association were travelling in an Opel Corsa bakkie driven by the taxi owner.
It is said that as the two victims came next to Miliva Circle, the two realized that they were followed by a white Ford Fiesta but they realized that the driver of the Ford Fiesta was the one known to them as “Morwa”.
As this vehicle came closer, it drove parallel to theirs and at that moment, the occupants who were armed, started firing shots at them.
The victims in this incident sustained some injuries and were transported to the hospital for medical treatment.
The Police at Tweefonein were notified about the incident whereby a case with two counts of attempted murder was opened and investigated.
The court was further notified that on 05 June 2021 around 13h00 the accused was involved again in another deadly shooting of victims from the taxi industry.
On the fateful day, two brothers were at their parental home at Siyabuswa, sitting outside together when a white Ford Fiesta emerged and its occupants started firing shots at them.
During this incident, Mr Moses Skhosana (38) was unfortunately killed whilst his brother sustained some injuries and was taken to hospital.
A case with a count of murder and attempted murder was opened then after an investigation was conducted, Makofane was traced and arrested.
He was charged accordingly in relation to the outlined shooting incident.
The state prepared a watertight case against the accused hence he was convicted and sentenced, the accused was sentenced to life imprisonment on a count of murder.
In addition to this sentence, the accused was given 10 years imprisonment for attempted murder.
Meanwhile on another count of attempted murder, the accused was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
On the third count of attempted murder, the accused was also sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
The accused was acquitted for another count of attempted murder due to the fact that the victim did not show up in court to testify.
On the count of possession of unlicensed firearm, the accused was sentenced to five (05) years imprisonment.
For a count of possession of unlicenced ammunition, the accused was sentenced to three (03) years imprisonment.
The accused was further declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has further applauded the Investigation team, the Prosecution team and the Judiciary for their collaborative efforts which culminated into this enormous sentence which will hopefully serve as a deterrence to other perpetrators of crime in the taxi industry.
