A former police officer was found guilty in the Durban Magistrate’s Court of killing an Uber driver.
- A former police officer was found guilty in the Durban Magistrate’s Court of killing a 26-year-old Uber driver.
- Khethokuhle Mvuyane, 26, was killed in a road rage altercation in November 2020 at Winklespruit, south of Durban.
- Sentencing is expected in September.
The Durban Magistrate’s Court has found a 44-year-old former female police officer guilty of murdering a 26-year-old Uber driver.
Magistrate Sharon Marks said the State had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Nonhlanhla Biyela shot and killed Khethokuhle Mvuyane during a road rage incident at a shopping centre in Winklespruit on 28 November 2020.
Recapping the testimony given during the trial, Marks said a car guard who witnessed the altercation testified that he saw Mvuyane park his vehicle on a ramp and then walk over to where Biyela had parked.
Biyela was seated in her vehicle when Mvuyane approached, swearing and arguing before he punched the police officer in the face.
Marks said: “There were words being exchanged and he [the car guard] suddenly noticed the deceased punch the accused in her face.”
The witness then saw a man who was seated in the front passenger side next to the police officer, getting out of the vehicle.
The deceased and the passenger, whom the court noted was Biyela’s cousin, started a fistfight.
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The magistrate said the guard then observed Biyela get out of her vehicle and fire two shots towards the pair.
Marks said one shot hit Mvuyane and another hit the accused’s cousin in the thigh.
A forensic pathologist’s report found that Mvuyane died as a result of a bullet that pierced through his back and exited through his chest.
Two witnesses, who were being ferried by Mvuyane, also testified in the matter.
Khethokuhle Mvuyane, 26, was shot and killed by 44-year-old Nonhlanhla Biyela during a road rage altercation on 28 November 2020.
Supplied Supplied
They both confirmed that the deceased and Biyela started fighting on the main road at Umgababa, south of Durban, while they were both driving towards the shopping centre.
The court heard that, en-route to the shopping centre, Mvuyane was complaining about Biyela’s apparent reckless driving.
“According to these ladies [witnesses], both [the accused and deceased] kept trying to overtake each other. Both appeared to be angry and insulting each other,” said Marks.
Accused’s version
Biyela pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.
She claimed that after the deceased punched her in the face, her cousin had taken her pistol from the vehicle’s cubbyhole and shots were fired during his fist fight with the deceased, which left both of them wounded.
However, her version was rejected by the court.
The magistrate reiterated that the evidence by the car guard, part of which was corroborated by a forensic pathologist, showed that Mvuyane was shot from behind while he was fighting with Biyela’s cousin.
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Marks said the fact that Mvuyane punched her in the face may have prompted her to pull the trigger.
“It was unlawful for the accused to shoot at the deceased. Both the men were unarmed. There was no need to shoot as no one’s life was in danger,” she said.
The matter was adjourned until 1 September for aggravation and mitigation of sentence.