Convicted businessman Sipho Shongwe’s appeal against his 50-year prison sentence for the murder of businessman Victor Gamedze has been struck off the Supreme Court roll following a dispute over the late filing of court papers.
The Supreme Court ordered Shongwe to file a fresh notice of appeal, together with an application for condonation within 14 days if he wishes to pursue his challenge against the conviction and sentence.
The order was made by consent after the parties appeared before Justices Sabelo Matsebula, Nkululeko Hlophe and Magritte Van der Walt.
The court order gives Shongwe 14 days to file the fresh appeal documents and seek condonation before the matter can be placed back on the Supreme Court roll.
The court directed that the matter be enrolled as early as possible during its next session. It further allowed the parties to file additional heads of argument after the matter has been re-enrolled, should they wish to do so. The appeal was struck off following the Crown’s objection that Shongwe’s legal team had failed to comply with the Supreme Court rules by filing its heads of argument four days after the prescribed deadline.
According to the Crown, Shongwe’s heads of argument were due to be served on August 17 but were only filed and served on August 21. The Crown argued that the delay left it with only the weekend of August 22 and 23 to prepare its own heads of argument, which were due on August 24.
“The Crown feels obliged to point out to this court that the Supreme Court rules are apparently ignored or disregarded with attempted impunity,” the Crown submitted.
It further argued that court deadlines were intended to ensure that both parties and the court had adequate time to consider the issues raised in an appeal.
“The Crown submits that the appropriate order in respect of this appeal is that it should be struck from the roll,” it stated.
Shongwe was convicted by Justice Nkosinathi Maseko on October 17, 2023. He was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment on July 31, 2025 with the sentence backdated to the date of his arrest.
The businessman was convicted in connection with the January 14, 2018 murder of Gamedze who was shot dead at the Galp Filling Station in Ezulwini.
In his appeal papers, Shongwe had argued that the 50-year sentence was excessive and fell outside the established sentencing pattern for murder cases in the country.
| Date | Reported event |
|---|---|
| 14 January 2018 | Victor Gamedze was shot dead at the Galp Filling Station in Ezulwini. |
| 17 October 2023 | Sipho Shongwe was convicted by Justice Nkosinathi Maseko. |
| 31 July 2025 | Shongwe was sentenced to 50 years’ imprisonment, backdated to the date of his arrest, according to the article. |
| Date not specified | The Supreme Court struck the appeal off the roll by consent and directed that fresh appeal documents and an application for condonation be filed within 14 days if Shongwe wishes to pursue the challenge. |
