ON the eve of the crime statistics release which showed murder has increased, a Cape Town family was gunned down execution-style at their home.
Nomaphelo Kebe, 45, her daughter, Wendy, 23, and son Sive, 17, were killed at 8.30pm in Mfuleni on Thursday before their family car was taken and later found gutted.
Minister of Police Bheki Cele released the 2019/20 crime statistics that showed 3 975 murders were recorded in the province, the third-highest in the country.
KwaZulu-Natal is the murder capital with 4 859 murders, followed by Gauteng with 4 555 murders and the Eastern Cape is the fourth highest with 3 879.
Mfuleni is rated sixth among the country’s top 30 police stations, with the most murders at 165, which amounted to a 7.1% increase from the previous financial year.
Delft overtook Nyanga as the province’s murder capital with 265 murders, an increase of 7.3%, while Khayelitsha came in second with a 13.6% increase.
For the Kebe family, questions are swirling on the motive behind the triple murder.
Nomaphelo’s sister-in-law, Nolukhanyo Kebe, 60, said the family was called after shots had been fired at the house.
“Nomaphelo had just returned from the hospital with her daughter and they must’ve been ambushed on their way in because there are no signs of a break-in,” she said.
“Sive was found lying outside the front step of the house and his mother and sister were found sprawled on the floor in the living room.
“The police said the car was found on a field in Bardale, torched, but nothing was taken from the house. Their phones are here, and the TV. It’s strange.”
Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said the motive behind the killings was being investigated and police were yet to make arrests.
“Two unknown suspects shot the three victims in the family vehicle.
“The vehicle was later found abandoned and burnt. The mother and daughter died on the scene and the son died later in hospital,” said Potelwa.
A friend of the family, Veliso Bukwana described the family as close-knit. “They were all such loving and caring people, Nomaphelo especially, who was a dear friend of mine and always jumped to help people in need without expecting anything in return,” she said.
“We are heartbroken by the brutal way in which they died; nobody deserves this. They will be missed a lot.
“Everyone they came across would remember them, and they were playful and fun.” Friends and family of both Wendy and Sive took to social media yesterday to express their shock, describing them as “full of life”.
Wendy, who was a final-year student at Cape Peninsula University of Technology, was studying to be a teacher.
Her brother was a Grade 11 pupil at a high school in Port Elizabeth.
Police have asked anyone with information that may assist with the investigation to contact them at 08600 10111.