North West taxi hitman Simphiwe Mcunukeli, 52, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Friday.

Mcunukeli was paid R50 000 to kill the chairperson of the Stilfontein taxi association, Nyamezeli Jeffrey Bambani, 59.

"On August 3, 2015, Mcunukeli entered Bambani's home through the back door and proceeded to the living area, where he shot and killed the victim before he fled the scene. 

"The local police were alerted, and they immediately referred the matter to the Priority Violent Crimes Unit of the Hawks in North West for further investigation," Hawks Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said in a statement on Monday.

Investigations led the team to Cofimvaba, in the Eastern Cape, where Mcunukeli was arrested in September 2016.

The 52-year-old was released on R5 000 bail by the Klerksdorp Magistrate's Court. However, he was arrested again in May 2017, after trying to evade trial, and kept in custody.

The accused was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and an additional nine years for illegal possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

"The provincial head of the Hawks Major General Patrick Mbotho has lauded the investigative efforts of the team and warned that people who take the law into their own hands that they will feel the full might of the law," Rikhotso said.

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