Patric Tsikelelo Mafohlela will spend five years in prison after being convicted of three counts of attempted murder, including an ANC councillor.
This comes after the Durban District Court acquitted him of the charges yesterday, and sentenced him.
Mafohlela and his late friend Mr. Lindani Goodness Phakathi, are said to have tried to kill three robbers on September 25, 2021, at Shaka’s Head, KwaDukuza.
It is said that Mr. Jethro Banda, former ANC councilor in ward 4 KwaDukuza, Mr. Petros Khumalo as well as Mr. Simon Chetty were among those involved.
It is said that the three were busy campaigning in this area when they were attacked by a shoplifter. It turns out that they were at the local Abstiania Tuckshop, standing when two men came towards them and opened fire.
It turns out that Banda used his official gun to fire back at the shooters, enough to see that the assailants were shooting, and then ran away.
It is said that Banda was injured as he was shot three times in the lower leg, Khumalo was shot in the upper leg, and Chetty escaped unharmed.
The case that was opened at the police station in Mhlali, was then taken over by the Political Killings Task Team to continue the investigation, where Mafohlela and Phakathi were arrested.
The case was put on the list of cases at the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court, and while the case was continuing, Phakathi, who was out on bail, was shot dead.
This led Mafohlela, who was also out on bail, to continue alone during the trial.
Yesterday, the case sat at the Durban District Court for the magistrate, Mrs. Meawalall to present her judgment and release the sentence.
Mrs. Meawalall found him guilty of all three charges of attempted murder against Mafohlela.
He said that in the first and second cases, he was sentenced to five years in each case, and in the third case, he gave him three years. He said he would serve all three of his sentences at the same time, and decided it was not fit for him to carry a gun again.