Two men have been found guilty of the murder of Egyptian-Capetonian businessman Mamdouh Moustafa. Moustafa, known as the Cairo Shwarma King, was stabbed to death when he was hijacked in 2015. Moustafa, 68 years old, was a well-known vendor at the VOC festivals and many other events in the city, selling his popular shwarmas.

In a judgement handed down by Judge Gayaat Salie-Hlope in the Cape Town high court today, the accused Imtiaaz Davids and Moeneeb Petersen were found guilty of premeditated murder, aggravated assault, and robbery.

According to the summary of substantial facts provided by the high court, on the 31st July 2015, the two accused and some friends were together when one of them contact Moustafa on his cell phone. They met the businessman at the Bonteheuwel Shopping Centre and got into the vehicle with him.

Moustafa drove them around to various places, eventually ending up at the beach. This was when the two accused plotted how they were going to kill Moustafa.

The court revealed that Moustafa then joined them at the back of the bakkie and the accused started to assault him.

The two accused then got into the bakkie and drove with the vehicle. The body of the deceased was dumped in Epping Industria and the vehicle was abandoned in Bonteheuwel.

In doing so, the accused also robbed the deceased of his vehicle, wallet and various cards. The men were said to be intoxicated during the time of the murder.

A post mortem conducted on the deceased indicates that he died as a result of multiple blunt and sharp force injuries to the head, face and neck. The accused were linked by way of witnesses, DNA evidence and other forensic evidence.

The sentence will be handed down next week. VOC