A former KwaZulu-Natal south coast municipality senior official, believed to be one of the masterminds behind the murder of the former ANC Youth League leader, Sindiso Magaqa, could be added to the three accused when they appear in the Pietermaritzburg High Court next week.
The official was named by the confessed hitman, Sibusiso Ncengwa, when he pleaded guilty to killing Magaqa last week.
In his 13-page affidavit, Ncengwa, who is already serving a long jail term for his involvement in a cash heist, detailed how Magaqa’s murder was planned and executed.
He named the official and late Harry Gwala District Municipality Mluleki Ndobe as the mastermind behind Magaqa’s murder, who he said hired him and other accused to assassinate the former ANC Youth League leader, who was an ANC councillor in Umzimkhulu at the time.
Ndobe and the official were arrested in 2018; however, they were released due to insufficient evidence at the time.
Ncengwa, businessman Mbulelo Mpofana, former policeman Sibonelo Myeza, and Mlungisi Ncalane were arrested in 2018 and charged with Magaqa’s murder.
They would be back in court on Thursday, June 19, 2025, except Ncengwa, who will return at the end of the month for sentencing after the State accepted his guilty plea.
Reacting to the confession, police provincial spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the new allegations would be investigated by the case’s investigating officer.
“The investigating officer of the case is in court, so if there is new evidence or allegations coming out in court in relation to the case, of course, he would have to investigate,” said Netshiunda.
However, he warned that police do not arrest people simply because they are named in a crime, but investigate and determine the next step.
Police are also expected to investigate the alleged involvement of the National Prosecuting Authority officials and a former journalist after the hitman also revealed their roles.
Ncengwa also revealed shocking details about the role played by the SAPS’s Crime Intelligence Unit members in the planning and execution of Magaqa’s killing; however, police said the allegations against officers would be referred to either Hawks or the Independent Police Investigating Directorate (IPID)
According to Ncengwa, the police purchased the AK-47 they used to murder Magaqa with slush funds. He added that they bought a Mercedes-Benz that was used for trips to Durban and Umzimkhulu.
He added that by escorting their vehicle on the day of Magaqa’s shooting, the police ensured that no officers would arrest them while travelling to Durban. The police officer who did this was compensated R20,000.
The hitman provided details about the NPA’s involvement, stating that he would have confessed a long time ago had the agency not attempted to stop him.
He told a police officer in 2019 that he wanted to confess, but the NPA dismissed the prosecutor because it believed he would permit the confession, especially the one that implicated the police.
The confession claims that Magaqa was killed because he sought to expose the official’s and Ndobe’s involvement in the corruption surrounding the renovation of Umzimkhulu’s town hall.
He claimed that the two paid R500,000 for their legal bills and R600,000 for the murder of Magaqa.
