Ladysmith: Four people have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of engineer Oscar Hlatshwayo in a drive-by shooting in Ladysmith in 2019, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said on Wednesday. The SAPS Political Killings Task Team secured the convictions in the Madadeni High Court.
According to South African Government News Agency, at the time of his murder, Hlatshwayo was an Executive Director in the Engineering and Infrastructure Services Department of the Alfred Duma Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal. The accused individuals, each sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in the murder, are Nomaswazi Shabalala, Mondli Mabaso, Mduduzi Njuza, and Brown Ngcobo.
Nomaswazi Shabalala, a senior engineer at the Alfred Duma Local Municipality, is believed to have ordered the hit on Hlatshwayo. Mondli Mabaso, a businessman with links to tenders at the municipality, was the second accused. Mduduzi Njuza coordinated and organized the firearms used, while Brown Ngcobo was identified as the shooter.
The National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Fannie Masemola, expressed that the life imprisonment sentences for each accused are welcomed. He also conveyed hopes that these convictions will provide necessary closure to the family of the murdered civil engineer.