South African Woman Sentenced To Life Imprisonment For Hiring Hitmen To Murder Husband Over Insurance Money

Phumaphi Gloria Gwebu

The Mpumalanga High Court sentenced a woman to life imprisonment on Monday, March 13, 2023, for paying R20,000 to gunmen to kill her husband so she could cash in on insurance policies.

47-year-old Phumaphi Gloria Gwebu and her husband Sipho Shadrack Dimba, 52, lived together at Msogwaba Trust with their children.

The accused pleaded guilty before the court.

In her plea explanation, Gwebu stated she took out five insurance policies for Dimba, one of which was to pay R530,000 upon his death.  

“She waited until the policies matured and arranged with the hitmen a few weeks before they killed the deceased,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Monica Nyuswa said.

On December 12 2019, the hitmen entered the house during the night, as arranged, and murdered Dimba.

They went straight to the bed where he was sleeping, strangled him with Gwebu present and threw his body into a nearby river before fleeing.

Two days later, a passerby noticed the body in the river and alerted the family. 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,” Nyuswa said.

Prosecutor advocate Eugene Mathebula told the court the murder was premeditated, brutal and triggered by greed.  

The court found no reason to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

The National Prosecution Authority, in a statement, welcomed the verdict and praises the good work done by the prosecution and the investigating team.

“We hope this sentence will deter potential offenders.” the statement added.