02/08/2025
UNDERSTANDING THE SIPHO SHONGWE MYSTERY
Swati Newsweek, 2 August,2025
By Mandla Mthethwa
The notorious businessman Sipho Shongwe has finally been sentenced to 50 years in prison, after spending the past seven years in custody for the murder of the late Victor Gamedze. Yet, despite the formal conclusion of this high-profile case, many Emaswati remain unconvinced that justice has truly been served. A growing number believe that Shongwe was either framed or, at most, a low-level accomplice in a much broader conspiracy. We unpack the facts.
SIPHO SHONGWE: THE ORIGINAL THABO BESTER
While serving a life sentence in South Africa for his involvement in a cash-in-transit heist, Shongwe managed to bribe prison officials into declaring him dead. This elaborate scheme enabled him to escape the republic and quietly return to Eswatini, where he successfully re-established himself as a businessman.
To avoid police scrutiny, he allegedly bribed several high-ranking officers. This deep corruption allowed police intelligence to become aware of both his escape from South Africa and his continued criminal activities within Eswatini.
Through these corrupt networks, Shongwe was able to operate an air-conditioning business which reportedly did business with the government itself.
CONFLICT WITH VICTOR GAMEDZE: THE DANGERS OF HIGH-PROFILE FOOTBALL
Shongwe and the late Victor Gamedze were long-time rivals, a feud believed to have originated from competition in the football world. What began as a rivalry in sports eventually spilled over into other areas, including their illicit dealings in Eswatini’s criminal underworld.
This very public enmity created the perfect narrative framework to implicate Shongwe in Gamedze’s murder, whether or not he actually pulled the trigger.
WHO WAS REALLY BEHIND GAMEDZE’S MURDER?
There is growing speculation that Gamedze was eliminated as part of a broader conspiracy involving several prominent businesspeople. The motive? Power and money.
Gamedze had controversially captured control of lucrative state-linked institutions, which created friction among powerful interests. As part of the alleged plot to remove him, a fake journalist was reportedly paid to circulate false stories accusing Gamedze of plotting to overthrow King Mswati. These stories, designed to play on the King’s paranoia, diverted Gamedze’s attention and had him chasing shadows while the real threat closed in.
It is believed that Sipho Shongwe knows the identities of those behind the assassination, but he has been silenced, likely due to his vulnerability within the prison system.
THE ROGUE CABALS THAT RUN ESWATINI
To these shadowy power brokers, Shongwe is no innocent man, even if he was not the mastermind behind Gamedze’s death. In their eyes, he should be grateful that he is serving time in Eswatini rather than being extradited back to South Africa to face his life sentence there.
Gamedze, too, was no stranger to controversy. He had been linked to several high-profile murders. Some within these rogue circles believe that eliminating him served the public interest.
The tragic irony is that, whether or not Gamedze and Shongwe were guilty of the crimes attributed to them, the entire saga was handled outside the bounds of law and due process. It raises profound ethical and legal questions about the state of justice in Eswatini.
In the end, it is up to the public to exercise civic courage, to dig deeper, demand accountability, and uncover the full extent of this conspiracy. Only then can justice truly be done.
