The State has opposed bail, to which the investigating officer was called to the stand to cite reasons for opposing it in the Ben Gumbi murder case. Amongst other reasons cited by the investigating officer, Lieutenant Patrick Tshipiwo Morungwa was the seriousness of the offence, as the accused Sibongiseni Ngubane, 33, faces a schedule 6 offence, which is premeditated murder.
Lt. Morungwa further alluded to the safety of the accused against three other suspects who are on the run and may endanger his life. Ngubane was also pointed out at an identity parade by several witnesses. The State further highlighted the community's interest in the matter, following the circulation of a recording of the alleged incident on social media platforms.
The state also urged the court to consider the gruesome manner in which the alleged murder was committed. According to the police, Ngubane was arrested by members of a multi-disciplinary team, which was established after the ruthless murder of Gumbi. Ngubane was arrested on September 12, in Germiston after attending a court case in which he is facing a charge of armed robbery, wherein he is out on R3 000 bail.
He also has a pending case of possession of a firearm and ammunition in Alberton, wherein he was granted R1 000 bail. Police reports revealed that Gumbi (49) was gunned down by two males outside a restaurant in the Rustenburg Central Business District (CBD) on Wednesday morning, 23 August. The suspects then fled the scene with a blue Volkswagen Polo car which was found abandoned a few minutes after the incident, at the corner of Helen Joseph and Lourie Streets.
The car was confirmed to have been stolen and the number plates that were on the car were false. Police investigators in the Gumbi murder case have since made a breakthrough after the arrest of KwaZulu-Natal hitman, Ngubane. He was arrested last week Tuesday when he appeared for a separate matter where he allegedly robbed a courier van, good worth about R300 000. Up to so far he has told the police he was paid R15 000 for the hit on Gumbi.
He told the investigating team that he was not the first one to pull the trigger on Gumbi, but he shot him after his co-accused (name withheld), did so first. The hitman, and the driver of the Toyota Corolla, have since allegedly gone to the ground - hiding in KwaZulu-Natal. Ngubane, who appeared at the Rustenburg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, told the police that he and the co-accused were paid by a middleman who organised that Gumbi be killed.
Members of a multi-disciplinary team are credited for arresting Ngubane. The lead detective in the case, a Lieutenant Morungwa, with 36 years of experience, stationed in Phokeng, in the Bojanala District Municipality. He told Mo Media Newspaper that they are working around the clock to make more arrests with the suspect cooperating with them.
Ngubane, who has since asked for the police to protect his family, said he is in fear for his life and that of his elderly parents, his partner and mother of his five children, and his siblings. He told the police that the people who hired him were gangrenous. Ngubane is expected to appear before the Rustenburg Magistrates Court on September 27, 2023.
