The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has welcomed the life sentences imposed by the Pietermaritzburg High Court on two men convicted of murdering acting school principal Busani Khomo, saying the ruling sends a strong message that violence against educators will not be tolerated.
Bheki Gabriel Dube (28) and Sibonelo Bhongo Sibiya (27) were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and three years’ imprisonment each for malicious injury to property.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, resulting in an effective life term.
“Both were also declared unfit to possess a firearm,” said NPA regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara.
Khomo, 58, was shot dead in December 2024 in the Mpumalanga area of Hammarsdale, where he was serving as acting principal at a local high school.
According to the NPA, the court heard that the two men had been hired by an individual with an interest in the acting principal position to carry out the killing. They were paid to murder Khomo and armed themselves with firearms.
The NPA said that on 5 December 2024, the pair lay in wait near the school. When Khomo drove past, they opened fire on his vehicle, fatally wounding him. He lost control of the car and collided with a stationary vehicle. He died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds.
The accused fled the scene and were arrested several months later, the NPA said, adding that Dube was apprehended at a relative’s residence while Sibiya was arrested while already in police custody on an unrelated matter.
KwaZulu-Natal Education spokesperson Muzi Mhlambi said the decisive judgment brought a measure of justice to the Khomo family, the school community and the entire education sector, which was robbed of a dedicated servant who devoted his life to shaping young minds and building a better future for his community.
“The Department views this sentence as a strong message that crimes against educators and public servants will not be tolerated, and that the rule of law will prevail over criminality,” he said.
Mhlambi added that schools must remain safe spaces for learning and teaching, not battlefields for violence and lawlessness.
KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Sipho Hlomuka said the outcome affirmed the call he made in 2024 for law enforcement agencies to act decisively against those responsible for Khomo’s killing.
“When Principal Khomo was murdered, we said the criminals must be hunted down and face the full might of the law. Today, justice has spoken,” Hlomuka said.
“This sentence sends a clear message that educators lives matter and that anyone who attacks our schools and those who lead them will pay a heavy price.”
The MEC also commended the Provincial Murder and Robbery detectives and other law enforcement partners for what he described as their relentless work in tracking down and arresting the perpetrators.
He said the conviction demonstrated that the state had both the will and the capacity to protect the education system and that the department would continue working with law enforcement to ensure schools were safe and that those who threatened the stability of communities were removed from society.
Ramkisson-Kara said the authority hoped the outcome would deter similar crimes.
“This conviction underscores the NPA’s unwavering commitment to securing justice for victims of crime and their families,” Ramkisson-Kara said.
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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