15 years for firing into a loaded taxi
10-year-old killed in Alex shootout
A 55-year-old taxi rank manager was sentenced to an effective 15 years imprisonment for killing a 10-year-old passenger and seriously wounding four others when he fired shots into a taxi.
Sello Daniel Moahlodi was sentenced in the South Gauteng High Court yesterday. On the day of the incident Moahlodi exchanged fire with taxi boss Khazamola Willy Mkhari, who owed the Alexandra Taxi Association a mere R100.
Acting Judge Eric Mhlari said Moahlodi had acted in a reckless manner. “The cause of all the hullabaloo was ... a mere R100. What makes the crime serious is that the accused shot into the taxi knowing very well that there were passengers inside,” he said.
Mhlari said at the age of 55, Moahlodi should have foreseen that innocent people would be injured. Mokgadi Langa, 17, was caught in the crossfire while sitting in a taxi at Pan African taxi rank in Alexandra in July 2015. Langa, who was 15 years old at the time, was hit in the back and the bullet pierced through her intestines.
She was in a taxi to Moletjie, Limpopo, with her 11-year-old cousin Rahab Mamabolo, who was shot in the face while trying to flee the scene.
He died on the scene. A total of four people were wounded. Langa said doctors told her that due to her injuries she will not be able to bear children. She said the incident changed her life forever. “The fact that I will not be able to have children hurts me the most. I do not like to look at myself in the mirror when I am naked because I now have a big scar that stretches from my chest to my private part. “I can’t eat solid food and I get tired easily. I used to be a dancer and now I can’t do that. I can’t run or even walk long distances,” she said. Moahlodi and Mkhari were charged with murder and four counts of attempted murder. Mkhari was shot and killed while on bail last year. Moahlodi apologised to the victims and their families in court but Mhlari said the apology was outweighed by what the shooting caused. “The victim (Mokgadi) was left with frightening scars that are unbearable to watch. A child’s life was cut short,” he said. Mhlari said Moahlodi’s personal circumstances were ordinary and that there were no compelling circumstances that justified that he deviated from the prescribed minimum sentence.
Taxi violence unit investigating officer sergeant Gerald Rapetswa said he was happy with the sentence.