Dalibor “Daki” Bubanja: Shellharbour drowning victim’s friends pay tribute

Friends of a man once convicted and acquitted of a shocking Wollongong nightclub murder have paid tribute after he drowned at a NSW beach yesterday. After eluding media for years, the man’s face can now be revealed.

Tributes have flowed for a man acquitted of a notorious Wollongong nightclub murder after he shockingly drowned in rough conditions at a NSW beach.

Dalibor “Daki” Bubanja, 36, was well known in the Illawarra after he was convicted and later acquitted of participating in the murder of Dragan Sekuljica at Wollongong’s Splashes nightclub in September 2007.

Despite his involvement in the high profile murder trial that followed and multiple subsequent brushes with the law over domestic violence allegations, Bubanja had successfully evaded the media’s gaze.

But as tributes pour in from his family and friends after his unexpected death at Shellharbour Beach on February 9, the Illawarra Star can for the first time reveal his face.

Dalibor “Daki” Bubanja.

In a statement NSW Police said emergency services raced to Shellharbour South Beach after 1.15pm on Wednesday following reports a man was in trouble in the surf.

“The 36-year-old man was in the water with two other men when he was seen to go beneath the surface and not emerge,” the statement read.

“The man was retrieved from the water about 5.10pm but could not be revived.”

The frantic search for Bubanja involved officers from Lake Illawarra Police District, NSW Water Police, Marine Rescue, Surf Lifesaving, Westpac Life Saver Helicopter, Toll Ambulance Helicopter and NSW Ambulance paramedics.

On Instagram, one family member wrote “rest in peace my beautiful cousin, I love you with all my heart and soul”.

Another close relative wrote simply “live free”, while a third wrote “my brother, you left us too soon”.

Bubanja’s shock drowning was the final twist in a life marked by controversy and encounters with the law.

The shooting death of Mr Sekuljica at Splashes, a popular night-time venue for University of Wollongong students, rocked the Illawarra in 2007.

Bubanja and three other men – Zlatan Popovic, Tevi Koloamatangi and Jason Hristovski – were all found guilty of murdering Mr Sekuljica by a Supreme Court jury in 2014.

Bubanja and Hristovski ultimately had their convictions quashed in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal in 2015, while Popovic and Koloamatangi were found guilty at a retrial following their appeals.

At the time of his drowning, Bubanja had run into trouble with the law again after he was charged with rape and domestic violence offences in October 2020.

Police ultimately dropped two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, assault causing grievous bodily harm, reckless grievous bodily harm, intentional choking, common assault, intentional or reckless property damage and two counts of intimidation.

He then remained before the court on one count of assault causing actual bodily harm and six apprehended violence orders.

He was granted strict conditional bail in May 2021 to reside at his parents’ Shell Cove home after they paid $480,000 in security for his release.