Durban — The Durban High Court on Wednesday sentenced the killer of Minenhle Mkhize, who was an ANC councillor in eThekwini, ward 103, to life imprisonment. Mkhize was shot and killed last year in Cliffdale at his home.
Acting Judge Sanele Hlatshwayo said he wanted to send a strong message to anyone who considered committing such crimes. He further said he had to make an example out of Mxolisi Gcabashe so that society retained its faith in the courts.
Gcabashe, a father of four, had pleaded not guilty. He was sentenced to three years for theft, eight years for unlawful possession of firearms, four years for unlawful possession of ammunition, life imprisonment for murder, 12 years for unlawful possession of a semi-automatic firearm and two years for the unlawful possession of ammunition.
Hlatshwayo said there was no reason for Gcabashe to kill Mkhize, because they did not know each other. He said he was a bad example to his kids and the court would not be lenient on him because he had children and was about to get married. He said what was worse was that Gcabashe continued to maintain his innocence even though there was overwhelming evidence against him.
“Looks like the time you killed the deceased you were working as a hitman because you were fired from your job when you got arrested in 2021. Despite overwhelming evidence against you, you continued to mislead the court,” said Judge Hlatshwayo.
Moreover, Judge Hlatshwayo said he accepted that Mkhize was killed because of politics. He further said no sane person who knew someone would empty 15 cartridges into them.
“This makes Gcabashe a hitman. Everyday we hear cases of political people being murdered. They are mostly killed for positions or tenders. It cannot be business as usual when the courts are dealing with such cases. They have to send a strong message to those thinking of committing such crimes,” he said.
He further said the emotional damage that Gcabashe caused to Mkhize’s family would affect them for the rest of their lives.
State prosecutor Advocate Elvis Gcweka said political killings were rife in KwaZulu-Natal, which is why the police minister formed the political killings task team. He asked the court to be harsh on Gcabashe.
The deputy secretary of the ANC eThekwini region, Nkosenhle Madlala, said this was a bittersweet moment because Mkhize would not wake up, but it was also a sweet moment because justice had been served.
He said they were happy as the ANC, although the people behind the killing had not been found. He said the family could now find closure.
“Minenhle was not the first councillor to die under these circumstances; there are others. We are still calling for the criminal justice system to dig deeper because we know that Gcabashe was not working alone. The motive has not been established. We want those people to be found and brought to book,” said Madlala.
He further promised that they would finish the house that Mkhize had been building for his mother. He said there had been delays, but plans to finish it were ongoing.
Mkhize’s mother, Gugulethu Ndlovu, said she was happy that Gcabashe got life imprisonment.
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