Byline: Andani Matumba
14 March 2023
The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court has convicted and sentenced Phumaphi Gloria Gwebu (47), to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband Sipho Shadrack Dimba (52).
The accused and the deceased were married and residing together at Msogwaba Trust with their children.
The accused pleaded guilty before the court and in her plea explanation she stated that she took five insurance policies for the deceased, one of which was to pay R530 000 upon the death of the husband.
She waited until the policies matured and then arranged with the hitmen a few weeks before they kill the deceased.
According to reports, on 12 December 2019, the hitmen came to the house during the night as arranged and carried out the task. Upon their arrival, they went straight to the bed where the deceased was sleeping .
They grabbed him and strangled him to death in full view of the accused.
They then took the deceased’s body and threw it into the nearby river and fled.
The accused paid the hitmen R20 000-00 for the task.
Two days later, a passerby noticed the deceased body in the river and alerted the family and the police were called.
The accused was arrested a year later after one of the killers confessed to the police and implicated her as the mastermind behind the murder.
State Advocate Eugene Mathebula addressed the court that the murder was premeditated, brutal, and triggered by greed for money.
The court found no reason to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.
Monica Nyuswa, NPA Regional Spokesperson in Mpumalanga said the National Prosecuting Authority welcomes the sentence and applauds the good work done by the prosecution and the investigating team. We hope that this sentence will deter would-be offenders.
