The State has strongly opposed bail for Sphelele Gumede, an alleged hitman facing charges of killing five people and injuring two in a shooting incident in oThongathi, north of Durban, last year. According to KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, Gumede is accused of ambushing a group of people in March, resulting in two fatalities inside a vehicle on Gopallal Road in the oThongathi central business district. Three others, escorting the taxi association chairperson, were also shot a short distance away, while two more sustained gunshot wounds.
The Provincial Taxi Violence Unit worked diligently to trace the suspect, leading to Gumede’s arrest on January 7 at a hideout in Manguzi. Gumede appeared in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court, where the State opposed his bail application. He will remain in custody until the next court appearance scheduled for March 12.
In a separate incident, a 32-year-old man, Ayanda Siboniso Majola, was arrested for a house robbery in the Mpusheni area of Umbumbulu, south of Durban. Majola, apprehended in Gqeberha on February 6, is accused of entering a home in March last year, demanding money and personal belongings from the occupants. Allegedly, he forced the occupants to transfer over R60,000 into a bank account before fleeing in their vehicle. Majola appeared in the Umbumbulu Regional Court and is set to return on February 14 for a formal bail application.