Pretoria – The Ermelo Magistrate's Court has remanded in custody an alleged gang member, who was arrested for the murder of a 25-year-old man earlier this month.
“According to the information, on Sunday 12 December 2021 a group of suspects, believed to be members of a certain gang allegedly approached the man who was in the company of his friends at Extension 6 in Thusi Village, Ermelo,” said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
“The other friends of the deceased, managed to escape but the man was cornered and repeatedly stabbed allegedly by the suspects and unfortunately succumbed to his injuries. The suspects then fled the scene thereafter.”
The incident was reported to police in Ermelo where a murder case was opened and a manhunt for the assailants was launched.
“Police immediately began with their investigation and made a breakthrough on Wednesday, 15 December 2021 where they located one of the suspects, Bonginkosi Stanley Mashinini and swiftly arrested him,” said Mohlala.
On Friday, the case against Mashinini, 39, was postponed for a formal bail application to Tuesday, and he was remanded in custody.
Earlier this month, a mother and her son were found stabbed to death at their home outside Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, in Mpumalanga.
At the time, Mohlala said two bodies were found at a house in Mataffin outside Mbombela.
“Police attended a scene after being informed of a bad odour coming from a certain house. When the members arrived at the house they found the door of house closed but unlocked and discovered a body of a 44-year-old-woman on the ground with a bed on top of her. The victim’s head was covered with a plastic bag and had a visible wound on her shoulder,” Mohlala said at time.