Killers of transport supervisor sentenced to life imprisonment

A transport supervisor who testified at a disciplinary hearing of a co-worker paid for his testimony with his life.

On Tuesday the two men accused of murdering Baker’s Transport supervisor Innocent Linda in 2019 were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pietermaritzburg high court.

Linda had been targeted after testifying at a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing for Sbonelo Dlamini, 37. Dlamini’s co-accused is 30-year-old Wonderboy Ntshangase.

The pair executed their plan to kill Linda in November 2019. They armed themselves with guns and drove to Ohrtmann Road, Pietermaritzburg. The court heard that they waited for Linda to board a taxi outside the company premises and followed him to the city centre.

Judge Rishi Seegobin admonished the pair for their unwillingness to testify. He said there was nothing brought forward by the pair to allow the court to deviate from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

Seegobin said the state brought Linda’s mother to the dock to share “heart-wrenching’’ testimony about the loss of her son.

He said Linda’s mother had described her son as remarkable, hard-working and industrious. After completing matric, Linda had pursued studies in the field of logistics. He had plans to further his studies in shipping at Durban University of Technology.

Linda, of KwaNdengezi, near Pinetown, had been working at the company for two years before he was murdered.

He has left behind a two-year-old daughter and a fiancée.

Seegobin said while he acknowledged the pair did not have previous convictions, the offence they committed was heinous.

“The killing was planned and spoken about for a long time. They don’t have regard for human life,” said Seegobin.

He said they were hell-bent on their act of revenge.

“They shot a person in cold blood in the vicinity of a busy shopping centre. They went on to celebrate for four months. They have shown no remorse.”