The Ntuzuma Regional Court has sentenced a hitman, Phathisakhe Thuthukani Ngiba, to life imprisonment for the brutal murder Zakhele Khuzwayo. Khuzwayo was killed in 2022 while seated in his car, conversing with a friend.

He was the ANC ward 11 councillor under the KwaMaphumulo Local Municipality. 

Ngiba was also sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for possession of an unlawful firearm and two years for possession of unlawful ammunition. Sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Additionally, Ngiba was declared unfit to possess a firearm. 

According to the State in 2022, the KwaMaphumulo municipality was run by the IFP in coalition with EFF and the Independent Alliance. After realising that the coalition was not safe, the IFP was desperate to stay in power and keep control of the municipality. 

“The IFP approached the ANC councillors and convinced them to resign in exchange for money to start businesses. The IFP did this with the aim of having a by-election and gaining more votes. The ANC councillors, including Khuzwayo, refused,” the State said. 

During the same year, on September 12, in an attempt to unseat the IFP, the ANC submitted a motion of no confidence to the municipality. 

On September 15, 2022 Khuzwayo was gunned down. 

Evidence led by the State senior prosecutor advocate Elvis Gcweka revealed that the fingerprints of Ngiba were found in Khuzwayo’s car. Cellphone data also placed Ngiba at the crime scene during the time of the killing. The court also learned that Ngiba used a Silver VW Polo Sedan as a getaway vehicle. 

In a victim impact statement, Peaceful Thuleleni Khuzwayo, the wife of Khuzwayo, said the death of her husband brought unimaginable pain for her and their children. She said she lived in fear as she did not know who killed him, and the Khuzwayo family accused her of the murder. 

“People were pointing fingers at me. There was a feud between my husband’s family and me. It was a hurtful ordeal, but I had to swallow that and be strong for my children as they were still young and needed my support,” she said. 

Peaceful added that the quality of life improved in her family when Khuzwayo got a permanent job at the iLembe municipality, but that was short-lived as he was killed. 

She described Khuzwayo as a loving and responsible father. “We lived happily and peacefully,” she said. 

She said after his death, she had to go and look for a job, but indicated that she was still not coping with losing her husband, who was their pillar of strength and protector. 

“I have been trying to be strong. Fear is part of my life, and some days I cannot sleep,” she added. 

The elder brother of Khuzwayo, Sifiso Khuzwayo, said the family was happy with the sentence, but they wished for investigations to continue, so that other people could be prosecuted. 

“We still want to know what happened because that man (Ngiba) was not alone in this,” he said. 

Ngiba is also charged with the murders of Siyabonga Mkhize, an ANC ward candidate in Ward 101 in Durban, and Mzukisi Nyanga, who was an ANC activist. Both Nyanga and Mkhize were shot and killed in 2021. Their murder trial is set to resume at the Durban High Court in November. 

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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