Bhekumusi Gabriel "Sifiso" Nkabinde (24 June 1961 – 23 January 1999) was a South African politician and alleged warlord in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
[2] Shortly afterwards, he became deputy secretary of the ANC's Natal Midlands branch,[2] serving under chairman Harry Gwala, whom the Mail & Guardian described as his mentor.
[5] Nkabinde established a self-defence unit in Richmond which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission later found was one of the largest in the country; in addition to being powerful in the Midlands, it garnered support and carried out operations elsewhere in Natal.
[7] Upon the conclusion of his term in the party office, he stood for election as Provincial Secretary, apparently disregarding an instruction from the ANC National Executive Committee to withdraw from the race.
[9] Nkabinde denied the allegations, arguing that his political popularity was perceived as threatening to ANC leaders and that he was being punished for having contested the Provincial Secretary election.
[6]After his expulsion from the ANC, Nkabinde joined the opposition United Democratic Movement (UDM), becoming the party's national secretary-general and provincial chairperson in KwaZulu-Natal.
[5] In September 1997, he was arrested at his home in Magoda[10] and trialled in the Pietermaritzburg High Court for his alleged involvement in 18 separate murders, eight preceding his expulsion from the ANC and the other ten afterwards.
[5] On 30 April 1998, he was acquitted for technical reasons: the judge was scathing about the conduct of police and prosecutors, finding that they had illegally recorded conversations between Nkabinde and his attorney and appeared to have schooled their witnesses.