MBABANE – Businessman Sipho Shongwe will spend 50 years behind bars after the High Court found him guilty of orchestrating the assassination of football boss and entrepreneur Victor Gamedze.
Justice N.M. Maseko handed down the sentence on Thursday, with the jail term backdated to January 2018, the year Shongwe was arrested. The court found that Shongwe played a central role in planning and financing the contract killing, which shocked the nation and left Gamedze dead at a Galp Filling Station in Ezulwini on 14 January 2018.
Delivering the judgment in a packed courtroom, Justice Maseko said the murder was premeditated and carefully executed with assistance from hitmen brought in from South Africa. The court heard that Shongwe, with the help of his associate Sandile “Dzodzo” Zikalala, enlisted the services of Mbuso Ncaza Nkosi and Simphiwe Tata Ngubane from Eldorado Park, Johannesburg.
Nkosi, who later turned State witness, told the court how they were smuggled into the country through the Ngwenya Border, housed in a local guest house, and equipped with firearms before the murder was carried out.
Lead prosecutor Advocate M. Hellens SC, alongside Principal Crown Counsel Macebo Nxumalo, argued that the killing was part of a calculated and coordinated plot. Evidence presented showed how Shongwe tracked Gamedze’s movements, arranged logistics for the hitmen, and maintained contact with them even after the assassination. The prosecution also submitted phone records, border crossing data, and witness testimony to build the case.
The court dismissed arguments from the defence seeking a lesser sentence on the basis of extenuating circumstances. Justice Maseko described the crime as “daring and dramatic” and said it bore all the hallmarks of a mafia-style hit, insisting that the sentence must reflect the severity of the offence.
Police investigations were led by Detective Senior Superintendent Sikhumbuzo Fakudze, who compiled the evidence that eventually linked Shongwe to the murder.
Shongwe remained composed as the sentence was read. His family, including his son, Kwaluseni MP Sifiso Shongwe, attended the hearing and were seen engaging him in conversation after court proceedings.
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