Kamogelo Olaitan
A taxi driver who transported looters during the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.
Lungelo Nthenga, 24, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft, relating to incidents in the Mobeni industrial area in July 2021 during the unrest that led to looting in both KZN and Gauteng.
In his guilty plea, taxi driver Nthenga told the Durban Regional Court that he used his vehicle to transport people to loot at a site in the Mobeni industrial area along the South Coast Road.
KZN National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said
Nthenga was arrested when the vehicle he was driving was stopped at a roadblock during a stop-and-search operation conducted by police in a bid to clamp down on looters.
“His vehicle had been loaded with tinned fish, rice as well as items from the surrounding warehouses which had been looted,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
She added that during court proceedings, regional prosecutor Kuveshni Pillay presented statistics from the SA Property Owners Association which showed that the province lost R50-billion during the unrest.
Pillay also told the court the unrest and looting caused a loss of foreign investment and tourism.
At least 342 people died during the unrest across KZN and Gauteng. The unrest began after former president Jacob Zuma was arrested for defying a Constitutional Court order to appear before the Zondo Commission.
