Gcabashe was shot outside his home as hitmen mistook him for metro police officer Lindokuhle Madonsela.
Picture: iStock
The Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has arrested a popular traditional healer for allegedly masterminding the murders of two metro police officers and mistakenly killing an ANCYL member over a suspected love affair.
The PKTT has made a significant breakthrough in the 2020 triple murder of ANCYL member Thamsanqa Kingdom Gcabashe and eThekwini Metro Police officials Lindokuhle Madonsela and Ndumiso Thusi.
Political Killings Task Team breakthrough
On 26 May 2020, Gcabashe was shot and killed outside his home in Section G, Mpumalanga Township, KZN.
Fourteen days later, on 9 June 2020, Madonsela and Thusi were ambushed while reporting for duty.
“Investigations later revealed that Gcabashe was not the intended target but was allegedly killed after the hitmen mistook him for metro police officer Lindokuhle Madonsela,” South African Police Service (Saps) spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said on Friday.
When the officers were murdered, Thusi had arrived to collect Madonsela just as gunmen opened fire on their vehicle. Both officers died at the scene.
Extensive investigation by the KZN PKTT revealed that a popular traditional healer from KwaMashu allegedly believed that Madonsela was in an intimate relationship with his wife, and he subsequently arranged for the officer’s murder.
Traditional healer accused of arranging murders over suspected love affair
“Following the mistaken killing of Gcabashe, the suspects allegedly regrouped and tracked down their intended target, resulting in the fatal shooting of Madonsela and his colleague, Officer Thusi,” Mathe said.
The Political Killings Task Team has since identified, linked, arrested and charged six suspects in connection with the murders.
The alleged mastermind was arrested on Friday.
To date, the nabbed suspects are the traditional healer, Fana Shabalala; Zamokuhle Nyandu; Mthokozisi Ntando Blose; ANC branch committee member from Hammersdale, Holy Shozi; and Sandile Msezane.
Six suspects charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder
The accused face charges relating to murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
“Investigations revealed that they were allegedly recruited and paid to carry out the killings,” Mathe added.
“Ballistic evidence conclusively linked the two murder scenes, providing investigators with critical forensic evidence that connected the offences.”
The traditional healer is expected to make his first appearance in the Hammarsdale Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 27 July 2026.
‘No one is beyond the reach of the law’
Meanwhile, the case against the five previously arrested accused has been postponed for pre-trial proceedings in the Durban High Court.
“This arrest marks a significant breakthrough for the KZN Political Killings Task Team and underscores its commitment to ensuring that those who commission, facilitate and execute murders are brought to justice,” Mathe said.
“The South African Police Service reiterates that no individual is beyond the reach of the law and that investigators will continue to pursue all persons involved in politically linked and contract killings, irrespective of their status or standing within their communities.”
