For the murder of her husband, Captain Zwelakhe Ntombela, a 44-year-old South African woman named Faith Nongcebo Ntombela received a life sentence.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, or Hawks, said that the Durban High Court had sentenced her on Friday, November 29, 2024.
According to Hawks KZN spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo, on May 3, 2023, Zwelakhe Ntombela, an officer assigned to the Durban Metro Police, was shot and killed while he was traveling home to Umlazi.
Hawks members from Durban Serious Organised Crime Investigation were given the case docket for a thorough investigation after a murder case was reported to the Umlazi police station.
"During investigation it was discovered that his private and service firearms were stolen by his wife before the shooting incident," Mhlongo said.
“In July last year, Mzo Btombela, 28, was arrested by the Hawks members working with National intervention Unit at Msinga area where he was hiding and Captain Ntombela’s firearms were recovered at Mzo’s homestead in KwaMaphumulo.”
According to Mhlongo, his accomplices Nongcebo, Khulani Cele, and Sithembiso Khumalo were also arrested as a result of Mzo Ntombela's arrest.
Sithembiso Khumalo, a 53-year-old primary school principal and co-accused of Faith Ntombela, an uMlazi court official, helped her locate a hitman to murder her husband.
When Mzo Ntombela appeared in court, he entered a guilty plea and was given a 20-year prison sentence for murder.
"On Friday, Nongcebo received sentences of two years in prison for thwarting the interests of justice, ten years in prison for stealing firearms, and life in prison for murder. Her sentence will be served simultaneously. The trial between Cele and Khumalo will resume in April 2025, according to Ntombela.
KwaZulu-Natal Hawks Provincial Head, Major General Lesetja Senona, welcomed the sentence.
