Loyiso Nkohla Mabandla murder: Gunman sentenced to 30 years in prison

Zukisa Tshabile has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2023 murder of political leader Loyiso Nkohla Mabandla. The Western Cape High Court in Cape Town convicted Tshabile of multiple charges, including murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. The charges came from two separate incidents: Mabandla's assassination on April 17, 2023, and an armed robbery at the Pizza Pub in Kraaifontein on July 5, 2023.

Mabandla was killed while addressing community members at the Philippi Railway Station. The court imposed a total of 149 years' direct imprisonment, but ordered the sentences to run concurrently with the 30-year sentence for Mabandla's murder, resulting in an effective sentence of 30 years.

Tshabile pleaded guilty to the charges in a plea and sentence agreement with the state, admitting that Mabandla had been approached by community members to act as a social facilitator between them and Prasa. The court heard that Mabandla and his wife approached Thobani Maxengana, who operated Limise Protection Services, to provide security at the Philippi Railway Station.

However, the relationship soured when Maxengana allegedly failed to pay 17 security personnel. Tshabile claimed that Mabandla paid the security personnel from his own funds and that Mabandla's wife was not at the community meeting where the gunmen attacked him.