A former police officer has been found guilty in Durban Magistrates Court of killing an Uber driver.
- A former police officer was convicted in Durban Magistrates Court A 26-year-old Uber driver was killed.
- Khithukuhle Mvuyane, 26, was killed in a roadside brawl in November 2020 in Winkelspruit, south of Durban.
- A verdict is expected in September.
A 44-year-old former police officer has been found guilty by the Durban Magistrates Court of the murder of a 26-year-old Uber driver.
Judge Sharon Marks said the state has established beyond a reasonable doubt that Nonhlanhla Biela shot and killed Khithukuhle Mvuyane during a road rage incident at a shopping center in Winkelsprout on November 28, 2020.
Marks, recalling testimony he gave during the trial, said that a car guard who witnessed the altercation testified that he saw Mvoyan park his car on a cliff and then walk to where she parked Biella.
Biela was sitting in her car when Mvuyane approached, swearing and arguing before punching the police officer in the face.
Mark said: There was an exchange of words and it is [the car guard] Suddenly you noticed the deceased accusing you in her face.
The witness then saw a man, who was sitting in the front passenger side next to the police officer, get out of the car.
The deceased and the passenger, who the court indicated was Biella’s cousin, began a fistfight.
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The judge then said that the guard noticed Biella exiting her car and fired two shots at them.
Marks said one shot hit Muviani and another hit the defendant’s cousin in the thigh.
A forensic report found that Mvuyane died as a result of a bullet wound that entered his back and exited through his chest.
Two witnesses who were being transported by Mvuyani also testified in the case.
Khithukuhle Mvuyane, 26, was shot and killed by 44-year-old Nonhlanhla Biela during a road fight on November 28, 2020.
supplied supplied
Both confirmed that the dead man and Beela started fighting on the main road in Amjababa, south of Durban, while they were driving towards the shopping centre.
The court heard that on his way to the shopping centre, Mvuyane was complaining about Biella’s apparently reckless driving.
According to these ladies [witnesses]both of them [the accused and deceased] They kept trying to outrun each other. They both looked angry and insulted at each other,” Marks said.
Accused’s account
Biella pleaded not guilty to the charge of first degree murder.
She alleged that after the deceased punched her in the face, her cousin took her gun from the car boot and shots were fired during his fist fight with the deceased, injuring both of them.
However, the court rejected her account.
The judge reiterated that the evidence provided by the car guard, part of which was confirmed by a forensic doctor, showed that Mvuyan was shot from behind while fighting with Biella’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 illegal for the accused to shoot the deceased. Both men were unarmed. There was no need to shoot as no one’s life was in danger.”
The case was postponed until September 1, in order to increase and reduce the sentence.