A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to an effective 25 years in prison after admitting to a series of shootings linked to taxi violence across Gauteng that claimed seven lives and left several others injured.
Halalisani Mchunu was sentenced in the Gauteng Division of the High Court in Johannesburg after pleading guilty to seven counts of murder, 17 counts of attempted murder, prohibited firearm possession and unlawful possession of ammunition.
The crimes occurred between July 2023 and August 2024 in Lehae, Eikenhof, Midrand, Johannesburg Central and Kagiso.
On 12 July 2023, shootings at Lehae Taxi Rank and along the R554 in Eikenhof left four taxi patrollers dead and several people injured. In August 2024, further shootings in Midrand, Johannesburg Central and Kagiso claimed three more lives, including those of an off-duty police officer and a taxi owner.
Investigations led police to a residence in Toekomsrus, Randfontein, where two AK-47-type rifles and ammunition were recovered. One firearm was ballistically linked to several shooting scenes, while cellphone evidence placed Mchunu at locations connected to the offences.
Mchunu also admitted to possessing the two prohibited firearms and 138 rounds of ammunition.
Although the individual sentences imposed by the court total 300 years, they will run concurrently, resulting in an effective 25-year prison term under a plea and sentence agreement with the State.
During sentencing, the State highlighted the devastating impact on victims’ families, including children who lost breadwinning parents, as well as the fear caused by the shootings in communities.
The National Prosecuting Authority welcomed the sentence, saying it holds Mchunu accountable for the deadly violence and reinforces the seriousness with which taxi-related violence and illegal firearm offences are treated.
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