Businessman Ben Gumbi’s killers sentenced to life

Rustenburg businessman Ben Gumbi’s murderers have been sentenced to life imprisonment each by the in the North West High Court sitting in Mogwase.

Sibongiseni Ngubane, 33, and Thabani Lethukuthula Gwala, 30, were found guilty of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm following Gumbi’s brutal August 2023 killing, which was captured on security camera.

They received life terms for the murder charge and 15 years for the firearms charge, which they will serve concurrently.

Gumbi gunned down outside coffee shop

On 23 August 2023, Gumbia and his wife had stopped at a local coffee shop on Kock Street in Rustenburg.

Gumbi went inside to order coffee, while his wife, Busisiwe, remained in their locked car.

While waiting for his order, Gumbi stepped outside the shop to take a phone call.

A car pulled up just moments later and two gun-toting men got out and opened fire on the businessman, fatally wounding him in broad daylight before fleeing the scene.

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National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Sivenathi Gunya said the men later abandoned the getaway car and switched to another.

“Police investigations, aided by surveillance footage from the coffee shop and fingerprints found on the abandoned vehicle, led to the arrest of Ngubane and Gwala in September and December 2023, respectively,” Gunya said in a statement on Thursday.

Accused found guilty

They both pleaded not guilty in court, but the prosecution’s overwhelming evidence led to their conviction.

“During sentencing, advocate Dibuseng Ntsala argued that violent crime has reached alarming levels in South Africa, leaving many families in grief,” Gunya said.

“She told the court that Gumbi’s life was taken in an extremely brutal, violent and callous manner, shot in cold blood and in full public view.”

The state urged the court to impose the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment for the murder, to which the court agreed.

Welcoming the outcome, Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West Rachel Makhari commended Ntsala for her diligence in bringing the matter to a successful conclusion.

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Makhari said the sentence serves as a strong deterrent to perpetrators of violent crime.

Alleged death threats

A few weeks before his death, Gumbi shared videos on social media where he talked about receiving death threats.

He had been in the process of evicting residents who had illegally occupied a piece of land where he and his business partners were meant to develop a smart city.

In the video Gumbi says their company, Kubu, has rights over the land and no threats will deter them.

“Those are the rights we have, legally so. The issue that the Gumbi homestead will be burnt and that I will be burnt will not stop the development. Nothing will stop the development. The development will go ahead. Do what you want to do and the law will take its course,” he said.

He further said he would pride himself if he were to die for changing people’s lives.

“You’ll be in jail for whatever stupid thing you do. At least I would have died for what I love. With threats or no threats, the development will go ahead.”