The Ngwelezane Regional Court has sentenced two men to life for murdering a pastor over a property dispute, leaving congregants shaken and his family devastated. Phakamani Eugene Khumalo, 33, and Sandile Mthokozisi Mabuyakhulu, 33, were sentenced to life and 11 years and six months imprisonment for the murder of John Funa Myaka in June 2023 in the Enseleni, KwaZulu-Natal, area. The deceased was a pastor, a member of the African Christian Democratic Party, and a ward councillor at the time of his death.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Myaka had purchased property from a person named Nonhlanhla before his passing. “The property was sold at R70 000, and when it was time for Myaka to take occupation of the property, Nonhlanhla organised hitmen to kill him,” Ramkisson-Kara said. She said the hit was organised because the property didn’t belong solely to Nonhlanhla; it was a family property.
Khumalo and Mabuyakhulu were recruited to kill the pastor for R20 000. Half of this was paid as a deposit before the job was executed. On the evening of the incident, the men shot and killed the pastor with other congregants present.
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The congregants who witnessed the brutal attack told the court that they were scared to attend church because the pastor’s death happened in a place of safety and refuge. After the shooting, the hitmen fled the scene on foot. Ramkisson-Kara said that afterwards, the police followed up on leads, which led to the arrests of Khumalo and Mabuyakhulu. The officers also followed up on Nonhlanhla’s whereabouts, but they found that she had died.
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