[3] He later joined the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) as a chaplain, after the military was integrated.

[6] Gqiba has stated that the integration of South Africa's military was a matter not only of race, but also of religion – linked to the "first human right – religious freedom.

[4] A primary purpose of that organisation, according to Gqiba, is the promotion of religious freedom as a human right throughout all the militaries in the region.

[4] He worked with Elijah Loza, a trade unionist in Cape Town to recruit and transport young people for Umkhonto weSizwe, to fight the apartheid policies of South Africa.

As Ambassador, Gqiba worked to dispel the idea that South Africa was "anti-Israel," but stated that much of the responsibility of strengthening relationships between the two countries belonged to Israel.

[3] Among Gqiba's achievements as ambassador was a trip to South Africa for Israeli leaders of the then-ruling Likud party, in October 2004.

Gqiba's no-nonsense approach to his position was often the subject of press coverage, including his admission that he was never trained as a diplomat, stating that "I'm a military man and I usually say what I think.

[8] One Israeli news article noted that the "good humor and ready smiles" of both Gqiba and his wife Vuyiswa had "won them many friends.

[8][9] During Gqiba's term as Ambassador to Israel, he was the subject of an incident at Ben Gurion International Airport where he was allegedly "publicly humiliated and treated in a racist manner" by a border control officer.

[14] He said that the rabbi's death "caused our young democratic state to weep," and that "a part of South Africa lies with him.