KZN man in Gauteng custody arrested over 2023 murders of Inkosi Sphamandla Khumalo and wife

Awaiting-trial prisoner arrested in Gauteng linked to 2023 murder of Inkosi Khumalo and his wife

KwaZulu-Natal police have arrested a 29-year-old awaiting-trial prisoner on a warrant in connection with the October 2023 murders of Inkosi Sphamandla Khumalo and his wife, Thuthukile Khumalo.

Arrest executed while suspect was in custody in Gauteng

Police said members of the Political Killings Task Team (PKTT) handcuffed the suspect on Thursday, 14 May 2026, while he was held in Gauteng. The arrest was carried out on a warrant of arrest, the police confirmed.

Attack on the R34 in October 2023

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda described the killings: on the morning of 28 October 2023, Inkosi Khumalo, his wife and their four-year-old son were driving along the R34 Road in Baltusspruit Nhlazadolo when two suspects allegedly opened fire from inside a vehicle.

Netshiunda said the victims’ vehicle left the road and stopped in an open field, where the suspects continued shooting. When police arrived the child was found unharmed and the parents were declared dead at the scene.

Ballistics linked suspect to the Khumalo murders

Investigators found the suspect in Gauteng after his arrest for a separate double murder in Kagiso, where a police officer and another person were killed, and for possession of three AK47 assault rifles.

Colonel Netshiunda said ballistic results matched one of the rifles recovered from the suspect to the scene where Inkosi Khumalo and his wife were killed.

Case forms part of politically sensitive investigations

The docket was handed to the PKTT and is among the so-called “121 dockets” a set of politically sensitive case files in KwaZulu-Natal that include assassinations and attempted murders. These dockets were previously removed from the PKTT and later returned for continued investigation.

Multiple links to murders across the country

Netshiunda said the suspect is also linked to murders in Richards Bay and other parts of the country, in addition to the Kagiso killings and the Khumalo murders.

Court appearance

The suspect is due to appear in the Utrecht Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 15 May 2026, facing two counts of murder and attempted murder.

Local relevance to Johannesburg readers

The arrest was executed while the suspect was held in Gauteng, underscoring the cross-provincial movement of investigations and the role of Gauteng-based police units in cases tied to KwaZulu-Natal.

Notes: Source: https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/crime/kzn-police-arrest-prisoner-murder-inkosi-khumalo-wife/