Two men accused of murdering Sduduzo Magwaza, a loyalist of former mayor of eThekwini Zandile Gumede, have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Durban High Court. 

Magwaza, an ANC member, was gunned down in his flat in Cornubia on January 12, 2021, by Siphamandla Makhanya, who was sent by his friend Mxolisi Hadebe.

He later died at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital due to gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen. Hadebe sent Makhanya to kill his friend to take control of his tenders.

Additionally, before Magwaza was killed, he had been nominated to become chairperson of the party at the Durban Ward 102 in Verulam for the upcoming elections. 

Handing down her sentence, Judge Sharmaine Balton said the duo did not have any compelling circumstances that would allow her to deviate from the minimum sentence.

She sentenced the pair to life imprisonment each and declared them unfit to possess any firearm.

 Magwaza’s niece, Amahle Masikane, said her uncle’s murder left her and the entire family traumatised.

She said that when they heard the gunshots on the day of the incident, they feared they would all die.

“During this time, there were children in the house, with the youngest being seven months old,” Masikane added. 

After her uncle’s death, she became the breadwinner, taking a job at a call centre while finishing her studies.

“Nobody should ever get to see the man who raised them lying helpless in a pool of blood.”

 She said it was a punch in the gut that the person behind her uncle’s murder was one of his closest friends, that they had also considered to have his best interests at heart. 

Simangele Qwabe, Magwaza’s sister, hailed State senior prosecutor advocate Elvis Gcweka for his good work.

“Without the prosecution and working hand in hand with the court, I do not think we would have gotten here. I am pleased with their work,” she said. 

Qwabe stated that she was satisfied with the sentence imposed on her brother’s killers, adding that they have been feeling unsafe, but now that the killers have been put behind bars, they would be able to sleep.

She further expressed her disappointment about Hadebe, whom they had regarded as one of their own. 

“The kids regarded Mxolisi as their uncle, and I regarded him as a brother. Even on the day of the incident, we called him, not knowing that he was the perpetrator,” said Qwabe. 

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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