Life And 40 Years For Killer Who Extorted Money

On Tuesday, Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced Thembelani Headman Dlamini (44), to life and 40 years imprisonment, for the offences of murder, attempted murder, extortion, and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. Dlamini is an ex-policeman, who had worked under the crime intelligence unit, before becoming a taxi owner. In 2019, Dlamini was with a friend, when they were shot at, while he survived the attack, his friend was killed. Thereafter he suspected his relative and associate, Mmeli Gift Xaba, of orchestrating the attack and told several people that he would avenge his friend’s death.

In September 2019, Xaba was at a petrol station in the Harding area, when Dlamini went there and shot him several times, in full view of many people who were also at the station. Xaba and the person that he was with, were injured and rushed to a nearby hospital where Xaba died.  Dlamini was also convicted on a charge of extortion, for threatening to kill members of the Bambanani Taxi Association, if they did not pay him an amount of R50 000, to deter other taxi associations.  He also wanted them to allow him to run his taxis without paying the association’s joining fee, of R40 000; further, he demanded them to pay him between R50 and R100 per taxi per day. To coerce them to pay him, he enlisted the assistance of heavily armed men, who would threaten them into submission. Dlamini was arrested following intense investigations.

In court, the State represented by Senior State Advocates Lawrence Gcaba and Elvis Gcweka led the evidence of several eyewitnesses and members of the taxi association. The State also handed in a Victim Impact Statement compiled by Xaba’s mother. and facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Nadi Mofokeng. In her statement, the woman said that she struggles to cope since her son’s death. He was their breadwinner and she is now responsible for his children. She said that her daughter (Xaba’s sister), died a few weeks after him, as she was heartbroken and could not deal with his passing. Dlamini was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, five years imprisonment for attempted murder, 20 years imprisonment for possession of unlicensed firearm and ammunition and 15 years for extortion. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. Further, the court deemed him unfit to possess a firearm.

The National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and commends the work done by the Prosecution and Investigation teams. We hope that sentences of this nature will serve as a deterrent to like-minded individuals.

Note: The NPA’s media statements are available on the website: www.npa.gov.za

Issued by

Natasha Ramkisson-Kara

NPA Regional Spokesperson

KZN Division

Enquiries: nramkisson@npa.gov.za / 0716700229