A 30-year-old man known as “Chillies” has been sentenced to five terms of life imprisonment plus 40 years in prison after he was found guilty of the murder of five people.
Sphamandla “Chillies” Gumede appeared in the Durban High Court on Friday, 31 October 2025.
Murder
Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Gumede was also charged with attempted murder and robbery, which he committed in Umlazi in November 2023.
“Just after midnight on 13 November 2023, six people were shot at the Uganda informal settlement in Umlazi. Five of them died, and one survived with gunshot wounds. The Provincial Murder and Robbery Unit detectives attended to the crime scene and took over the investigation.
“Shrewd investigative work unmasked the identity of the suspect, and with efforts of finding him proving insufficient, dedicated investigators connected the dots and found that the man they were looking for was in Qalakabosha Prison following his arrest on a different case of murder, which he had committed in Eshowe,” Netshiunda said.
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Netshiunda said police detectives successfully opposed his bail application.
“He was kept behind bars until the day of his sentencing.”
KZN shootout
Meanwhile, two suspects who were wanted for several violent crimes in Inanda and surrounding areas have been killed in a shootout with KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) police.
Netshiunda said the duo were shot when they attempted to kill police officers in Umlazi on Monday morning, 3 November 2025.
Netshiunda said police are investigating the incident.
“Police gathered and operationalised intelligence regarding the whereabouts of the suspects, and when police pounced on them at an informal settlement on Silwane Khoza Road at D Section in Umlazi, the suspects fired shots towards police officers.
“The men of law stamped the authority of the state by returning fire, and during the resultant shootout, two suspects were shot and fatally wounded,” Netshiunda said.
Netshiunda added that two firearms were found in the possession of the suspects.
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