LIEUTENANT-GENERAL Thembisile Patekile, the provincial commissioner for the Western Cape, has welcomed the hefty sentences imposed on an accomplice who stood trial for the murder of Prince Mmola three years ago in Thembalethu, George.
The accused, Ndabezitha Ngxangane, identified as the driver of the get-away car of the hitmen from Cape Town, was effectively sentenced to 16 years in jail for his part in the murder. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
The sentences were handed down by Judge Nathan Erasmus on Thursday, 28 July, in the Thembalethu High Court.
Advocate Robin E Lewis from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) represented the state.
On the day of the incident, the then Eden cluster commander in George assigned a multidisciplinary team to assist Thembalethu detectives with probing the murder of the taxi owner. Mmola (then 32) had been gunned down in Liwani Street zone 8.
At the scene, police found the victim still seated behind the steering wheel of his Isuzu bakkie. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his head and was already deceased.
Witness reports suggested that a suspect, with a handgun, had fired multiple shots through the windscreen of the bakkie. He then ran away while being pursued by bystanders. He got into a get-away car that then sped off.
Intensive investigation led to the arrest of the accused in 2020 in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape. He has been incarcerated since then, and was found guilty on a charge of murder last month.
During his judgment, Erasmus had nothing but praise for the tenacity of the investigation team. He also commended the court orderly for the professional and human conduct displayed towards both the accused as well as the family of the deceased.
