Third witness puts two men at the murder scene of taxi boss
A THIRD witness has placed the two men who allegedly shot and killed taxi boss and manager of the Dolphin Coast Taxi Association, Dustin Pillay, at the crime scene.
The accused, Cebo Xulu and Thokozani Mthethwa are facing 18 charges including the murder of Pillay.
The taxi boss was killed in September 2019 during the peak of taxi violence in Shakaskraal, north of Durban.
The third witness, whom we cannot name to protect his identity, told the Durban High Court yesterday that accused two Mthethwa is the one who shot Pillay at close range. He said the accused were Pillay’s close friends.
He said on the fateful day he had been with the second witness, who is a taxi owner, and Pillay. He said he went to the car as he was tired because they had been drinking and it was cold. He said he left Pillay with the second witness at the shelter.
“I was watching ‘Isidingo: The Need’, a soapie which started at 11.00. I was watching it from the screen of the car. After I had just started watching it, I heard the sound of a gun shooting.
“It was then that I was getting shocked and I raised my head to see what was going on. That is when I saw Mthethwa shooting whilst in a Jeep with a number plate of GP. He was sitting in the back seat of the Jeep on the left side. He was shooting in the direction of the shelter where the second witness and deceased were,” explained the witness.
“As I looked in their direction, I saw them crawl towards the side of a vehicle which was in front of the one I was inside of.
“It is then that the second witness came to the passenger side door of the vehicle I was in and knocked on it. He opened the door for me. He then pulled me because I became stuck as the steering was pressing my leg. I used the left side to exit. When he had pulled me he said we must crawl. At the time Pillay was leaning on the side at the back of the vehicle in front of the one I was in, by the left side next to the wheel. We then crawled and we ran,” he explained.
He said when he turned to look back, he saw Mthethwa walk over to Pillay and shoot him at close range.
He said Xulu got out of the vehicle and tried to chase them while shooting. “I could hear the sound of the bullets pass my ears and I could see the bullets strike on the side or on the ground,” he said.
He said Xulu got disturbed by guards who had arrived and they started shooting at each other. He said as the accused left the crime scene he saw that the Jeep was being driven by Mfanufikile Dlamini, the accused who died while in custody.