Two men involved in the 2022 murder of Ben Tuzee, 51, co-owner of Dixies Restaurant & Bar in Glencairn, are behind bars.

Mr Tuzee was stabbed multiple times during a hijacking in Browns Farm, Philippi, on September 6, 2022, while accompanying his niece, Kaele Lombard, 33, to deliver a TV she had sold on Facebook’s Marketplace.

Ms Lombard’s car, a Toyota Tazz, was taken, and she was struck in her back several times with a rock while Mr Tuzee was stabbed.

Locals carried Mr Tuzee to a nearby clinic where he was treated, but he died within an hour of being attacked (“Dixies co-owner killed in hijacking,” Echo, September 7, 2022).

A week after the murder, Nyanga police officers arrested three suspects who subsequently entered into plea agreements with the State following their initial court appearances, and two of the three were sentenced, in the Wynberg Regional Court, to direct imprisonment .

According to Advocate Hansie Linde, who held a watching brief for the Lombard family, accused number one, who may not be named as he was a minor at the time of his arrest, turned State witness in exchange to be excused for his role in the crime.

In February, Ndiphelele Mtunaye, who was 18 at the time of arrest, was sentenced to 25 years for murder and 15 years for aggravated robbery. The sentences will run concurrently.

And on Thursday September 19, Zolile Nkombisa, who was 23 at the time of arrest, was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for aggravated robbery.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila confirmed the sentences of Mr Mtunaye and Mr Nkombisa and said both were declared unfit to possess firearms.

In a statement, Ms Lombard details the events of that fateful day.

She says she was familiar with the Philippi area as she had travelled there twice weekly to buy and sell fruit and vegetables.

On the day of the incident, she had Googled the address and used satellite images available to satisfy herself that the area was safe and not too secluded.

Upon arrival, she called the interested party, and a boy dressed in school uniform came walking towards her. He told her that his father was coming, and he walked past her towards her vehicle, where her uncle was waiting.

Then Nkombisa and Mtunaye suddenly appeared carrying bricks and started attacking her and her uncle.

They tried to strike her on the head but only succeeded in striking her on her back a few times while her uncle was attacked with a knife and bricks while sitting in the car.

They then dragged her uncle from the car and tried to get the TV out of the car but struggled as it was a big TV.

They then decided to get into the vehicle and drove off.

Two members of the community assisted Ms Lombard and Mr Tuzee.

“Ben was still alive but not in a good way,” the statement reads.

Mr Tuzee was taken to the Nzamezabantu Clinic where the woman who was assisting them told Ms Lombard she had also lost her husband in a car hijacking

Mr Tuzee died around 10am, less than an hour after being attacked.

Police recovered Ms Lombard’s car shortly after the incident not far from the address where it happened, and Ms Lombard identified the suspects through a photo ID parade.

Mr Linde said Ms Lombard, who had been “hit very hard by the death of her uncle and her own near-death experience”, had showed great mental strength throughout the criminal justice process.

“She did extremely well to identify the culprits of this horrendous crime and is the main reason why there has been some justice. Although the imprisonment of two of the three culprits brings some closure and end to a very traumatic experience, nothing will ever bring back her uncle, Ben, who she loved so much,” he said.

Mr Tuzee’s sister, Tinkeke Lombard, declined to comment.

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