The family of a man who used to be a police officer of Thekwini Municipality broke down in tears yesterday, the District Court in Durban sentenced him to 45 years for murder and two counts of attempted murder.
A man, Mandlenkosi Gumbi (50), was sentenced for shooting and killing Mr. Sanele Thembani (24) in an incident that took place on the M4 road near Pick n Pay Hyper, Durban North in August 2023. Gumbi’s family cried until they were taken out of court.
According to the police testimony, Gumbi was part of the police who had a roadblock in this area, but according to those who were traveling in the car the deceased was in, there was a road accident.
It is said that the owner of the double cab, in which the deceased was sitting with others in the car, decided to turn around and go back when he saw other cars turning, seeing the accident. It is said that this is where Gumbi shot three times, aiming at the van, and the bullet hit Thembani.
Sentencing him yesterday, the Magistrate, Mrs. Sophie Reddy, said she was giving him 15 years in prison for murder, 15 for each case, and two for attempted murder. He said that he will serve these sentences at the same time, saying that this makes it 15 years that Gumbi will serve inside. It also decided that he should not carry a gun again.
During the sentencing, Mrs. Reddy accused Gumbi of abusing his powers as a police officer, saying that he could have done much better with his 30 years of experience, rather than choosing to shoot.
“You were a police officer who felt disrespected and disrespected by the owner of the car, and then you used your authority to shoot. You could have done better than enforcing the law in the wrong way,” said Mrs. Reddy.
Mrs. Reddy ignored the points made by Gumbi’s lawyer, Ms. Ncube, who was trying to persuade the court to give her a lesser sentence than the one reserved for those who committed crimes like Gumbi’s.
Among his points, he said that Gumbi, who lived in Mlaza, is a 50-year-old man, and that he was 47 years old when he committed the crime. He said that he does not have children, he is not married, but he takes care of his mother, who is on pension, and also takes care of his sister’s three children. He also mentioned that he joined the Thekwini Municipality police in 1997, and he was the first to commit a crime.
Mrs. Reddy said that these are not concrete reasons that can cause Gumbi to be sentenced, and she said that for those who mentioned that he takes care of them, there is no concrete thing that shows that they are legally dependent on him.
The State Prosecutor, Mr. Celani Dludla, while urging the court not to budge from the sentence given to those who have committed such crimes, said that Gumbi has never shown any remorse during the trial.
“What was seen from him was to show no remorse where he said he does not fully accept that he has committed a crime,” said Dludla who said that another question the court should ask is the way his colleagues tried to protect him.
He said: “The question is, how many other people did they hurt, and were they able to defend each other successfully. This is the time for the court to give him a sentence that will send a message to the public, so that those who always complain about this way of police behavior, will be satisfied.”
He said he was disappointed that during the trial, Gumbi said he was doing his job. “With his years of experience, he should have been able to discipline himself with the rules governing the use of firearms, instead he chose to keep shooting,” he said.
He also highlighted that since the driver of the car chose to turn around and go back, Gumbi had no reason to shoot the passenger, who had done nothing.
It is a country found out that after an internal investigation in the police, Gumbi was not fired but demoted, he was placed in a lower position, and he continued to work, as he was released on a bail of R2 000 in mid-2024, after his arrest.