The in-laws of Faith Ntombela who conspired with her convict boyfriend to kill her husband police Captain Zwelakhe Ntombela, said they were not fighting with her but rather with her actions.
The Durban High Court, on Friday sentenced Faith to life imprisonment for the murder of Capt Ntombela who worked for the Durban Metro.
The Captain was killed in his home at uMlazi C section on May 3, 2023, while closing the gate, by hitman Mamdlenkosi ‘Mzo’ Ntombela who was hired by Faith.
Mzo was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment after he revealed that he was hired by Faith.
Faith was thereafter arrested alongside her boyfriend Khulani Cele who is currently serving a life sentence for murder. School principal Sithembiso Justice Khumalo was also arrested.
Faith was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for theft and firearms, and two years' imprisonment for defeating the ends of justice. Her sentences would run concurrently.
Nkosinathi Ntombela the brother of Captain Ntombela said now that Faith has been sentenced, it was time for the family to report Faith to the ancestors and tell them what their daughter had done.
“As a traditional family, we have a way of doing things, we do not fight. We are going to sit down as a family and report her to our ancestors. We had to wait for the law to take its course,” he said.
Ntombela said he was sad that Faith’s mother had not approached their mother since the death of his brother.
“It is as if they fought when that is not the case,” he said.
He said the couple's children have accepted what happened to their parents.
Ntombela said it was one of the reasons why he had to bring them to court on Friday so that they could get closure.
“I don’t want them to grow up thinking that I or the family had their mother arrested. I want them to get closure,” he said.
On Friday before the sentencing, Faith requested for her children to not be in the courtroom during her sentencing. However, Judge Mahendra Chetty consented to the minor child not being present but allowed the elder one to sit in.
Before he handed his sentence, Judge Chetty, said if Faith was not happy in her marriage she could have filed for divorce instead of killing her husband.
He said Faith was desperate to have her husband killed as she first attempted to poison him.
“She lured him to go and close the gate manually so that the hitman could kill him. She provided Mzo with a police uniform so that no one would notice,” said Judge Chetty.
He said there was no reason for Faith to kill her husband for money because she was working for the Department of Justice at uMlazi and she could provide for herself.
He said it was also not clear in her plea why a politician would approach her and that not much is known about her romantic relationship with Cele.
In her plea, Faith said she was approached by ANC provincial leader Siboniso Duma for a tender on Facebook, however as time went by she learned that she was not talking to Duma but Cele.
Judge Chetty said Faith did not provide any compelling reasons for the court to deviate from the minimum sentences for her offences.
Faith, who looked sad, refused for the media to take her pictures. After her sentencing, she was rushed away, avoiding eye contact with people in the gallery.
Cele and Khumalo will continue with the trial in April next year.