A 38-year-old taxi driver who gunned down three innocent 17-year-old pupils in their rented room hours after a drunken road-rage row with another motorist has been sentenced to three life terms plus an additional 42 years behind bars.
Siphelele Jako was sentenced in the Eastern Cape High Court in Bisho this week for the 19 November 2023 attack in Mdantsane, which claimed the lives of 17-year-old Somila Soso and 17-year-old twin brothers Ume and Likuye Ndambiyane.
A fourth pupil was also shot during the rampage and survived with a bullet lodged dangerously close to his spine.
### Relaxing after exams when the gunman burst in
The court heard that the teenagers—who did not know Jako and had nothing to do with the earlier road-rage altercation—had just returned home from writing their examinations and were relaxing in their room when the gunman arrived.
The twins had rented a back room on the property to live closer to their respective schools, Buchule Technical High School and Mzomhle High School.
Hours earlier, Jako had been driving under the influence of alcohol while transporting a female passenger home when he veered into oncoming traffic, sparking an argument with the driver of another vehicle. After the confrontation was broken up, Jako drove off and dropped the woman at her home.
However, refusing to let the grudge go, Jako returned to the woman’s home shortly afterwards with another man and demanded that she show him where the motorist he had argued with lived. When she refused, Jako pulled out a firearm, pointed it at her, and forced her into his vehicle.
### Forced the door open and opened fire
The motorist involved in the earlier argument lived on the same property where the teenagers were staying.
Upon arriving at the address, Jako jumped the fence, walked up to the pupils' back room, and knocked on the door. When the teenagers opened the door and saw an armed stranger standing in front of them, they tried to slam it shut.
Jako forced the door open, barged inside, and opened fire on the boys.
Somila, Ume, and Likuye died inside the room. The fourth teenager, despite being shot, managed to escape and stumbled to the landlord to report the shooting. Jako was arrested the following day.
### “Cruel and cowardly conduct”
Throughout the trial, Jako pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence despite overwhelming evidence presented by the State. Witness testimony included accounts from the woman he kidnapped, the surviving teenager, and the motorist from the earlier road-rage argument.
The man who had accompanied Jako to the property that night was acquitted, and his testimony proved instrumental in placing Jako at the crime scene.
Handing down sentence, Acting Judge Noluvo Mhlana agreed with the State that the murders were premeditated and that Jako had displayed zero remorse for slaughtering defenceless children.
“Their lives were cut short by the cruel and cowardly conduct of the accused. He shot them more than once in the chest and head, ensuring that they did not survive. He acted like an animal and does not deserve to live among society. He needs to be removed from society for a considerable period,” Judge Mhlana said.
The court also heard that Jako had a previous conviction for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, for which he had received a suspended sentence.
In addition to the three life sentences for murder, Judge Mhlana handed Jako:
15 years for attempted murder
5 years for housebreaking with intent to commit murder
5 years for kidnapping
3 years for unlawful possession of a firearm
3 years for unlawful possession of ammunition
3 years for pointing a firearm
3 years for discharging a firearm in a built-up area
3 years for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm
Welcoming the sentence—and a breakthrough in Gqeberha road-rage murder
The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Director of Public Prosecutions in the Eastern Cape, Advocate Samkelo Mtwana, praised Senior State Advocate Nkululeko Mzinyathi and investigating officer Sergeant Anele Mdodana for their meticulous work in securing the sentence.
“This sentence sends a clear message that those who commit planned acts of extreme violence and unlawfully take the lives of others will face the full might of the law,” Mtwana said.
Meanwhile, in an unrelated Eastern Cape road-rage killing in Gqeberha last week, police have made a breakthrough following the fatal stabbing of 56-year-old motorist Shaun Marais on Circular Drive.
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge confirmed on Thursday that detectives from SAPS Walmer have arrested a 58-year-old male suspect and impounded an SUV for further forensic analysis.