July unrest killer handed 20-year prison term

JULY 2021 unrest murderer, Joel Fenton Pillay, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment this week, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has said.

Pillay was found guilty on Monday by the Scottburgh High Court for the murder of Lindani Mthethwa that took place amid the looting and public violence in various parts of KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021.

On July 12, 2021, Mthethwa was walking on Ireland Street in Verulam, when Pillay drove past him.

Pillay, who was driving a marked vehicle owned by a security company, turned his vehicle around and drove back towards Mthethwa.

When he was alongside Mthethwa, he lowered the window of his vehicle and shot him in the head.

Mthethwa died on the scene. Commenting on the case, NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the State’s case depended on the evidence of two witnesses led by State advocate Thabani Buthelezi.

The evidence of the two eyewitnesses was critical to the case which led to Pillay’s conviction on the charge of murder, she said.

This testimony was corroborated by information from the tracking device installed on the vehicle that Pillay drove on the day of the incident.

“Buthelezi also submitted a victim impact statement compiled by Mthethwa’s sister.

She said Mthethwa was a responsible and hard-working person. She said her family has been financially and emotionally affected. The incident was traumatic, as the sister still has flashbacks,” Ramkisson-Kara said.

She said in sentencing Pillay, the court deviated from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment, citing that he was a first offender. Pillay was sentenced to 20 years in jail, and the court found him unfit to possess a firearm.

“The NPA commends the work done by the prosecution and other stakeholders in securing the conviction,” she said.