Man guilty of murdering lover at taxi rank in broad daylight

The man accused of killing a Soweto mother in broad daylight has been found guilty of the murder

Hector Sipho Mdletshe  was found guilty of the shooting and killing of Nomsa Hilda Mbuyisa, 39, as she was about to board a taxi to work on Elias Motsoaledi and Machaba Drive in Mofolo Section in May 2018. 

He appeared in the South Gauteng High Court, sitting in the Palm Ridge regional court, on Wednesday and was found guilty of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. 

The couple were involved in a volatile relationship which had led to Mbuyisa obtaining a protection order against Mdletshe. 

Judge AJ Thobane said he found that Mdletshe waited for Mbuyisa  and followed her to the taxi rank where he caught up with Mbuyisa, her brother Alfred Mbuyisa, and their son Mthunzi Mbuyisa. 

“I find that when she was about to board the taxi, you in unlawful possession of a firearm, you pulled it out and fired two shots at her. She fell to the ground and that while on the ground, you fired a shot at her head,” Thobane said. 

He said he found that the killing of Mbuyisa was pre-planned. 

“This court finds that you had a direct intention to kill the deceased. 

"The court finds that you turned the firearm towards Alfred Mbuyisa with intentions of killing him. You also turned the firearm towards Mthunzi Mbuyisa and pointed the firearm at him with intentions to kill him,” he said. 

Thobane also found Mdletshe guilty of being in unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. 

He postponed the matter until Tuesday for sentencing.