He was with Mlungisi Ngcobo, Ntandoyekhaya Makhanya and Bonginkosi Duze when they were approached by a vehicle occupied by Xulu and Mthethwa.
The men fired shots at Pillay and his companions and Pillay died at the scene after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
Xulu and Mthethwa fled after abandoning the vehicle and were later arrested by police.
The pair’s co-accused, Mfanufikile Dlamini, died before the trial started.
The convicted pair’s family and the Pillays were present in court on Friday.
During the trial, senior state advocate Elvis Gcweka led evidence of three witnesses and the victim impact statements compiled by Pillay’s parents.
Joash’s mom, Chloe Pillay, said the family was not ready to open up about the incident as the wounds of Pillay’s death were still fresh. But in a victim impact statement she detailed how a part of her had died on that fateful day. It painted Joash as a person who played a pivotal role in the family and a generous community member.
“A mother can never come to terms with the loss of her son,” she said.
As a middle-aged estate agent based in Ballito, Pillay said her work had taken a heavy knock in the aftermath of the incident.
“I am always stressed and my life has been turned upside down.”
All sentences will run concurrently.
The NPA’s regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara welcomed the sentence and commended the successful partnership between the prosecution and police.
“Taxi-related violence and killings are rife in this province and we hope a sentence of this nature will deter like-minded individuals,” she said.
TimesLIVE
‘A part of me died on the day,’ says mom of taxi boss killed by two hitmen
Cebo Xulu and Thokozani Mthethwa sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 10 years for gunning down Joash Pillay in 2019
Image: MASI LOSI
Two hitmen convicted of gunning down a KwaZulu-Natal north coast taxi owner, Joash Pillay, were sentenced to life imprisonment and an additional 10 years by the Durban high court on Friday.
The court found Cebo Xulu and Thokozani Mthethwa guilty of murder, three counts of attempted murder, possession of stolen property and three counts of malicious injury to property and unlawful possession of a firearm for the September 2019 incident.
Pillay, a member of the Dolphin Coast Taxi Association, was ambushed at a taxi rank in Shakaskraal near Ballito.
Image: Supplied
He was with Mlungisi Ngcobo, Ntandoyekhaya Makhanya and Bonginkosi Duze when they were approached by a vehicle occupied by Xulu and Mthethwa.
The men fired shots at Pillay and his companions and Pillay died at the scene after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.
Xulu and Mthethwa fled after abandoning the vehicle and were later arrested by police.
The pair’s co-accused, Mfanufikile Dlamini, died before the trial started.
The convicted pair’s family and the Pillays were present in court on Friday.
During the trial, senior state advocate Elvis Gcweka led evidence of three witnesses and the victim impact statements compiled by Pillay’s parents.
Joash’s mom, Chloe Pillay, said the family was not ready to open up about the incident as the wounds of Pillay’s death were still fresh. But in a victim impact statement she detailed how a part of her had died on that fateful day. It painted Joash as a person who played a pivotal role in the family and a generous community member.
“A mother can never come to terms with the loss of her son,” she said.
As a middle-aged estate agent based in Ballito, Pillay said her work had taken a heavy knock in the aftermath of the incident.
“I am always stressed and my life has been turned upside down.”
All sentences will run concurrently.
The NPA’s regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara welcomed the sentence and commended the successful partnership between the prosecution and police.
“Taxi-related violence and killings are rife in this province and we hope a sentence of this nature will deter like-minded individuals,” she said.
TimesLIVE
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