Billionaire businessman Wandile Bozwana was brutally gunned down in broad daylight. The culprits behind this ruthless act were none other than a notorious gang led by taxi kingpin Vusi “Khekhe” Mathibela. The Pretoria High Court has now sentenced Mathibela and his accomplices to 30 years of direct imprisonment.
Mathibela, once known as “The Tsotsi number 1,” along with Patrick Hudla, Matamela Robert Mutapa, and Bonginkosi Paul Khumalo, were found guilty of the premeditated murder of Bozwana. In addition to the murder charge, the court also sentenced the four men to 10 years for attempted murder, 6 years for possession of firearms, and 2 years for possession of ammunition. The court ordered these sentences to run concurrently with the 30-year sentence.
The incident took place on October 2, 2021. Bozwana was at Sandton Mandela Square in Johannesburg with his business associate, Betty Mpho Baloyi. As they left Sandton for Pretoria in Baloyi’s car, the three men, acting on Mathibela’s orders, followed them. When Bozwana and Baloyi reached the Garsfontein off-ramp and stopped at a red light, the three men got out of their BMW and opened fire on Baloyi’s car before fleeing the scene.
Both Bozwana and Baloyi were shot in the attack. Despite her injuries, Baloyi managed to drive until she reached Garsfontein road, where police and emergency services arrived. They were both taken to the nearest hospital, but Bozwana succumbed to his injuries.
The three men were arrested on different dates between 2015 and 2016. Mathibela, who had initially been granted R50,000 bail in December 2016 after turning himself in, was rearrested in 2019 for violating his bail conditions. His bail was forfeited to the state, and he has been in custody ever since. Despite the evidence against them, all four men pleaded not guilty to the charges.