Durban — A state witness told the Durban High Court on Wednesday that a second man accused of killing North Coast taxi owner Dustin Pillay was the one who pulled the trigger and shot him at close range.
Pillay, who was the manager of the Dolphin Taxi Association at the time, which is based in Shakaskraal, north of Durban, was shot dead in September 2019. At the time he was killed, taxi violence in this area was rife, and at least four people were slain.
The witness, who cannot be named for safety reasons, told the court that Thokozani Mthethwa (the second accused) was the one who shot Pillay, while the first, Cebo Xulu, shot into the air to try to scare off the bodyguards of the taxi owners with Pillay. The witness said the guards and other taxi owners managed to run away. However, Pillay was shot and died on the spot.
The two men are facing charges of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, eight counts of attempted murder, two counts unlawful possession of firearms, with one being an automatic, unlawful possession of ammunition, theft of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property, malicious injury to property and negligent driving.
He said he first saw a white Jeep passing by the rank where they were, and said it again came back driving slowly, and the accused alighted from it and opened fire. However, Advocate G J Leppan, representing the accused, asked the witness why he had not mentioned the Jeep in his statement.
“I did tell the police about the white Jeep, and it was recovered. I told the police that but I ended up forgetting some of the things, it had been such a long time,” he said.
Leppan further asked the witness how many people were in the car, and he said there were three.
“You didn't think that there could have been four?” he asked.
The witness insisted that the car had had three people in it, and that two had got out and fired the shots. In this case there was another accused, Mfanufikile Dlamini from Hammarsdale, who died while in custody. The witness further said the accused got into the Jeep after firing shots and left the scene.
The State alleged that the Jeep used was stolen at or near the Dolphin Coast Taxi rank, Shakaskraal, in the district of KwaDukuza/lower Tugela.
The State alleged that the accused unlawfully and intentionally conspired among themselves and with others to intentionally kill Pillay and taxi owners Mlungisi Andrew Ngcobo and Ntandoyenkosi Makhanya. The State further said that prior to the incident there were indications that Pillay made a number of reports to the police relating, among other things, to murders being committed in the taxi industry.
Judge ME Nkosi has imposed strict rules in court so that witnesses can testify without fear for their lives.
The only people allowed in the court are families, court staff and the legal representatives.
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