Siphamandla Gumede has been convicted of three murders by the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
Image: File
The Pietermaritzburg High Court found Siphamandla Gumede guilty on three counts of murder and one count of assault earlier this week.
Gumede, who asked his victim, Simo Luthuli, to load a bullet into his revolver before fatally shooting him, was also convicted of assaulting Luthuli’s nephew, Siphamandla Ngwenya.
Gumede, from Entumeni near Eshowe, and the victims were at Luthuli’s house after being asked to leave a 21st birthday party in December 2018, after it ended.
While drinking, Gumede asked Ngwenya to go and buy him cigarettes. When Ngwenya initially refused, Gumede slapped him across the face with an open hand, forcing him to comply.
After Ngwenya left, Gumede produced a revolver and instructed Luthuli to load a single bullet into the rotating cylinder. When Luthuli refused and began apologising for an unspecified reason, Gumede struck him on the head with a stick, causing a bleeding wound.
Luthuli complied after being instructed again, and Gumede immediately shot him in the head.
A State witness, who entered witness protection after being threatened by Gumede, testified that everyone fled after witnessing the shooting of Luthuli.
The witness stated that they later learned that Edwin Zungu had also been shot dead, although the witness did not see Zungu’s murder.
Gumede was also convicted of the murder of Bongani Mhlongo. A pupil from Mafunda Secondary School testified that she witnessed Gumede shooting Mhlongo multiple times.
Judge Robin Mossop noted the pupil’s confidence and clarity, stating that she was able to identify Gumede and that her evidence was corroborated by a parent who had come to the school for a meeting.
Although not seeing the shooters, the parent heard gunshots and saw the getaway car, a Toyota Etios.
In delivering his ruling, Judge Mossop stated he was satisfied that the State had established Gumede’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on all charges, rejecting Gumede’s evidence as fabricated.
Judge Mossop praised the unnamed State witness, stating: “His evidence was clear and detailed. The explanation that the witness provided was rich in detail, and that detail helped provide meaning to the events that were said to have occurred.”
The judge found this testimony credible and noted it was corroborated by Ngwenya’s evidence of being assaulted and sent to buy cigarettes.
The judge further noted the circumstantial evidence led by State prosecutor T Ntsele regarding Zungu’s murder, and acknowledged the witness’s testimony that only Gumede had the gun in the house, despite the bullets going missing after the initial investigating officer was killed en route to testing them.
Critiquing Gumede’s defence, Judge Mossop stated: “He is simply an unbelievable witness who was quite prepared to lie when it benefited himself. When he had no explanation, he denied facts with which he was confronted.”