Durban – TEN people were killed in a bloody night at the weekend, a few kilometres from Mariannhill.
In one incident at Zwelibomvu, four men were shot dead, apparently in a dispute over a goat, on Saturday night.
A source said it was believed a man stole a goat in the area. The owner searched and found the animal at his neighbour’s property, and that men had been ordered to watch over the goat, which was already dead. Four men, including the alleged thief, were then taken by a group of people to a nearby soccer field and shot. Their bodies were left on the ground, the source said. The four, aged 17 to 24, were found with bullet wounds to the body and head.
“This is one of the bloodiest nights I have come across. The last time there were killings like this was when there were taxi wars, but even then there would be two or three bodies at a time, not this much,” he said.
Also on Saturday night, a group of six people, some of them teachers, were killed execution-style at KwaNdengezi, near Pinetown. They had been returning from a gathering in the area and were dropping off a friend when they were accosted by armed men in a car which had followed them.
They were ordered out of their car and made to lie on the ground. The gunmen then took the phones of the friends and shot them in the head as they lay on the ground. Three men and two women died, while one woman survived.
Police Bheki Cele, flanked by several of the police’s top brass, was visiting the KwaNdengezi area in the wake of the murders on Monday.
Ward 12 councillor Vusumuzi Mbanjwa said he was shocked by the incident.
“When I first heard of the incident, I did not believe it. I later found out that it was in my ward. What is sad is that if there are disputes, people now resolve them through gunfire,” he said.
Mbanjwa said he was still trying to get to the bottom of the motive for the incident.
In the third incident, the body of a 35-year-old man, Ayanda Gwala was found near the bottom of a gorge at Zwelibomvu in the Mangangeni area yesterday morning. It is believed he was also shot on Saturday night.
Sibusiso Gwala, the dead man’s brother, said he received a call early yesterday morning to go to Zwelibomvu.
“They then told me that children who had been herding goats and playing in the area had discovered the body of my older brother, Ayanda, in the gorge.”
Gwala said he was still confused over the motive. “He never really bothered anyone and was a quiet person,” he said.
Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said officers were investigating the murders and no arrests had been made yet.
Daily News