Three men have appeared before a magistrate for the brutal murder of six people during a holdup at a shopping complex on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.
Ernest Phiwayinkosi Mnyandu, 38, Ngcebo Simphiwe Mkhwanazi, 39, and David Boy Sithole, 51, made a brief appearance in the the Empangeni Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
In the shooting at Vulindlela shopping complex on Friday,
. A sixth person died in hospital later.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said they were remanded in custody for further investigation and would be back in court next week.
The King Cetshwayo Cluster Task Team swooped on the suspects in the Ngwelezane and Mkhobosa areas on Tuesday.
This after a group of heavily armed men had stormed the shopping complex – in KwaDlangezwa, near Empangeni – at the weekend.
They had opened fire at security guards and others who were in the vicinity, Zwane said at the time, and stolen an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing the scene.
Two security guards and a man who was sitting in his vehicle, were among those who died.