A former Durban Metro Police officer, Mandlenkosi Gumbi, was sentenced to 45 years on Wednesday for murder and two attempted murder charges by the Durban Regjonal Court. Gumbi shot at a bakkie that had made a u-turn on the M4 fattally wounding a passenger who was sitting in the bin.
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The family of a Durban Metro Police officer broke down in tears on Wednesday as the Durban Regional Court sentenced him to 45 years’ imprisonment for murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Mandlenkosi Gumbi, 50, was convicted for the murder of 24-year-old Sanele Thembani, who was shot on the M4 highway near Pick n Pay Hyper in Durban North in August 2023. Gumbi’s family wept uncontrollably in court and were eventually ordered to leave the courtroom.
Evidence before the court showed that Gumbi was among officers manning a roadblock at the time of the incident. However, those travelling with the deceased maintained the shooting followed what they described as an attempted manoeuvre by the driver.
The driver of a double-cab bakkie reportedly made a U-turn after noticing other vehicles doing the same. Gumbi then fired three shots at the vehicle, fatally wounding Thembani who was sitting in the bakkie's bin with others.
In delivering judgment, Magistrate Sophie Reddy sentenced Gumbi to 15 years for murder and 15 years for each of the two attempted murder charges. The sentences will run concurrently, resulting in an effective 15-year prison term. Gumbi was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
Reddy found that Gumbi had abused his authority as a law enforcement officer, stating that his 30 years of experience should have guided him to act with restraint rather than resort to lethal force. She dismissed the defence’s plea for a lesser sentence.
Gumbi’s lawyer argued for leniency, citing his personal circumstances. The court heard that Gumbi was 47 at the time of the offence, lived in uMlazi, had no children, was unmarried, and supported his mother as well as his sister’s three children. He had joined the Metro Police in 1997 and had no prior criminal record.
State prosecutor Celani Dludla opposed any deviation from an appropriate sentence, arguing that Gumbi had shown no remorse throughout the trial. Dludla pointed to Gumbi’s failure to admit guilt and his alleged reliance on colleagues to support his version of events.
“With his many years of experience, he should have managed to restrain himself; instead, he chose to shoot,” said Dludla.
He further argued that once the driver attempted to turn the vehicle around, there was no justification for Gumbi to fire at the passenger, who had done nothing.
It also emerged that Gumbi was not dismissed from the Metro Police after being charged. Instead, he was demoted and allowed to continue working following his release on R2,000 bail in 2024.