GQEBERHA — Siphelele Ntisana has been sentenced to multiple life terms by the Gqeberha High Court for his orchestration of the Kwadwesi double murder and a deadly shooting spree that left two men dead and three others critically wounded in December 2024.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) publicly commended the judicial outcome following the sentencing handed down on Thursday, 25 June 2026. The 30-year-old offender, widely known by the alias “Hupa,” faced justice for the violent events that unfolded at Westville Shacks in the Eastern Cape.
According to court proceedings, the incident occurred on 22 December 2024. Ntisana entered a shack alongside an armed accomplice, where five men were gathered. After Ntisana verified the identities of the intended targets, his accomplice initiated a hail of gunfire. Bulelani Peter and Siyabulela Plaatjies were fatally wounded and died at the scene. The remaining three men managed to survive the barrage by feigning death.
These three survivors were subsequently transported to Livingstone Hospital to receive medical care for their severe injuries. Their willingness to provide detailed statements to authorities proved instrumental to the subsequent investigation.
Detective Sergeant Nigel Wright, operating within the Serious Violent Crime Investigation (SVCI) Unit in Gqeberha, successfully tracked and apprehended Ntisana. Confronted with irrefutable evidence, the accused ultimately withdrew his bail application.
Prosecutors established that the massacre was driven by a personal grievance; Ntisana operated under the belief that Peter had previously robbed him. To execute his plan, Ntisana contracted a hitman identified as Lisakhanya. Lisakhanya was subsequently killed during a separate, unrelated shooting in Motherwell in January 2025.
Presiding over the case, the High Court delivered a comprehensive sentencing schedule, with all terms ordered to run concurrently:
– Two counts of murder: Life imprisonment for each count.
– Three counts of attempted murder: Life imprisonment for each count.
– Two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances: 15 years in prison for each count.
– One count of attempted robbery with aggravating circumstances: 15 years in prison.
– One count of unlawful possession of a firearm: 15 years in prison.
– One count of possession of a firearm with intent to commit an offence: 15 years in prison.
– One count of unlawful possession of ammunition: Five years in prison.
In addition to the custodial sentences, the court officially declared Ntisana unfit to possess any firearms.
