WeeklySA_AdminINTERSECTION: The killing of Kegomodicoe and Keabecoe Lekone has renewed scrutiny of their business interests, political relationships and criminal history — and revived questions about the networks of money and influence surrounding them…
By WSAM Reporter
The slain Lekone twins, Kegomodicoe and Keabecoe, moved in a world where business, political patronage, government tenders and alleged underworld connections intersected.
Their deaths have brought renewed attention to their commercial interests, political relationships, past criminal history and the enemies they reportedly made in Mangaung, Bloemfontein.
Their business interests reportedly brought them into conflict with rivals linked to the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality and Free State provincial government.
In a municipality where public contracts and political connections could determine access to money and influence, tender disputes carried consequences beyond the boardroom.
Their deaths have closed a chapter in Mangaung’s history, but the questions surrounding their lives remain unanswered…
The twins’ history also intersects with the murder of Noby Ngombane, an ANC stalwart who served as chief of staff in the Free State government, and political rivalries that reportedly extended to national level.
Investigators from the South African Police Service in Pretoria reportedly approached the twins to obtain a sworn affidavit implicating a politician suspected of involvement in Ngombane’s death. Investigators also reportedly approached a former Mangaung executive mayor for information implicating the same politician.
It remains unclear whether the twins signed an affidavit or supplied investigators with information about the murder. The reported approaches form part of the unresolved questions surrounding their political relationships and dealings with investigators.
Following news of their deaths, Nokwanda Ngombane, Noby’s widow, published a Facebook post invoking biblical vengeance and remembering her late husband.
She wrote:
“Mama kaHloni, kea tseba hore ngoana oa hao le monna oa hao, Ntate oa banna baka ba tsamaile, empa kajeno ke re ho wena hoopla demand ya 1 Marena 21:1 ‘Moo dintjha di nyekileng madi a Nabothe, dintja di tla nyeka le a hao madi.
“A re tshidisehe kajeno hobane ithambo lenyoka lihlaba elimzondayo.
“Because I was fed Christianity, I deem fit to quote the Bible which says ‘Beloved’, never avenge yourself but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay, says, the Lord’. — Romans 12:19 (ESV).
“And the sky is beautifully adorned by a thin blanket of clouds on this day that the lord has made. I’m indeed rejoicing in it.
“Enkosi Bawo.
“Noby Nyova Mahlubonke Ngombane, rest my love, you can rest now.”
Her post invoked the biblical account of Naboth and Romans 12:19, which speaks of leaving vengeance to God. The reference to dogs licking Naboth’s blood appears in 1 Kings 21:19, rather than 1 Kings 21:1.
Her closing words to Noby — “rest my love, you can rest now” — gave the message a deeply personal resonance.
The post, however, does not establish responsibility for his murder or a connection between his death and the killing of the twins.
Accounts from Noby’s friends describe him as a driving force behind the twins’ business rise. He is also said to have masterminded the Ekhayeni entertainment lodge, conceived as a gathering place for Mangaung’s wealthy and influential — Lekgotla la batho ba maemo.
The lodge was intended to bring businesspeople, politicians and members of the township’s elite together outside government offices and corporate boardrooms.
According to those close to Ngombane, his relationship with the twins later deteriorated. Friends alleged that the brothers failed to acknowledge his contribution to their advancement and neglected his children and family.
These accounts describe a relationship in which financial interests, personal loyalty and political influence became intertwined. The precise circumstances of its reported breakdown remain unclear, as does the extent to which the competing accounts can be independently established.
Another reported source of contention involved the twins’ claim to the Old Grey Sports Ground.
The facility hosted prominent events, including, according to accounts supplied for this feature, the funeral of former Free State premier Mosiuoa Lekota. The dispute placed the twins’ commercial interests alongside questions about control of a significant public venue in Mangaung.
The basis of their claim, the municipal decisions concerning the facility and the interests of other parties remain important aspects of the dispute.
The name of Lehlohonolo Seqhee, a police officer who served as bodyguard to the Free State MEC for finance at the time, also features in the twins’ history.
The brothers were accused in connection with Seqhee’s murder but were acquitted. Accounts surrounding the case describe dissatisfaction among former uMkhonto weSizwe guerrillas, while Free State political leaders reportedly appealed for restraint and warned against revenge.
The case became part of a wider history of tensions surrounding political violence, criminal prosecutions and relationships between public figures and people operating within Mangaung’s business networks. Their acquittal remains an essential distinction in recounting that history.
The twins’ maternal uncle, Wezile Ngala, was a former Robben Island political prisoner. Their maternal grandfather, Ntate Ngalo, was a prominent South African Police officer in Mangaung during the late 1960s.
Their family history crossed the worlds of political resistance, policing and the Free State’s changing power structures. These connections formed part of the social and political background against which the brothers developed their business interests.
The twins also became prominent figures in a major municipal corruption prosecution.
According to accounts of the proceedings, the Bloemfontein High Court convicted Kegomodicoe and Keabecoe Lekone, together with several co-accused, of offences involving the defrauding of the Mangaung municipality in October 2012. Each brother reportedly received an eight-year prison sentence.
The wider prosecution involved charges of fraud, racketeering, theft and money laundering relating to municipal activities between 2000 and 2005. Accounts of the case placed the sums under scrutiny in the hundreds of millions of rand.
The prosecution followed an investigation into municipal affairs. According to accounts of the proceedings, the National Prosecuting Authority reached an agreement with one accused to secure evidence against other defendants.
The prosecution subsequently secured convictions against the twins and other accused, while former executive mayor Itumeleng Pappie Mokoena, his wife and former municipal manager Mojalefa Matlole were acquitted of the charges they faced.
Unresolved allegations
The proceedings brought procurement practices and the handling of public money under scrutiny. They also deepened divisions in Free State political circles, where the convictions and acquittals drew sharply different responses.
The twins’ commercial dealings, reported relationships with influential politicians and involvement in the corruption case made them significant figures in Mangaung’s political and business landscape.
Their lives ended violently on October 21 2026, when they were shot at business premises in Bochabela, Bloemfontein. Police opened a double-murder investigation and launched a manhunt for the perpetrators.
The brothers leave behind a history marked by business ambition, reported municipal corruption convictions, disputed commercial interests, political relationships and unresolved allegations concerning Ngombane’s murder.
Their deaths have also renewed questions about what they knew of the relationships connecting businesspeople, politicians, municipal officials and alleged underworld figures. The extent of any such knowledge remains unknown.
The story of Kegomodicoe and Keabecoe Lekone is intertwined with Mangaung’s broader history of power, money and political rivalry. Their deaths have closed a chapter in that history, but the questions surrounding their lives remain unanswered.
