THE sentencing of the four men convicted of the murder of North West businessman Wandile Bozwana has been postponed until January 2024.
Judge Papi Mosopa has postponed the matter to Wednesday, 24 January 2024 after the defence requested pre-sentence reports.
This was after the pre-sentence reports were read out in court, only to be postponed on Wednesday, 22 November, after the defence experts had an opportunity to speak to the accused.
The accused include Mamelodi's taxi boss Vusi Mathibela (37), also known as "Khekhe", Sipho Patrick Hudla (41), Matamela Robert Mutapa (47) and Bonginkosi Paul Khumalo (43).
They were found guilty of premeditated murder in June 2022 after pleading not guilty to all the charges against them.
They were also found guilty of the attempted murder of Mathibela's business partner Mpho Baloyi and possession of a pistol and ammunition.
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"When the deceased and Baloyi left Sandton to drive back to Pretoria, they travelled in Baloyi's car. The three men followed them until they arrived at the Garsfontein exit, where the traffic lights were red. The three men got out of the BMW they were driving and started shooting at Baloyi's car before leaving the scene," Mahanjana said.
Mathibela started working in the taxi industry after graduating from high school and was able to start his own business at the age of 17 after receiving two taxis from his grandmother.
In her report, the probation officer made no recommendations for the sentence.
State prosecutor Advocate Jennifer Cronje questioned why no sentence was proposed and argued that only direct imprisonment was acceptable.
The probation officer admitted on cross-examination that a direct imprisonment would be appropriate but did not explain why.
