Two men appeared in court for the mass shooting which claimed the lives of five people in Mfuleni on Sunday.
Vuyile Gqomo and Lwando Wonder-Boy Nakani were arrested on Tuesday and have been charged with murder and the illegal possession of ammunition.
In the presence of provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile, the duo appeared in Blue Downs Magistrates Court, and thereafter, two more accused, Lilitha Phalane and Siphelele Gqomo, joined them in the dock, also charged with the illegal possession of ammunition.
State prosecutor Nomzamo Sinaze told the court: “The accused are appearing on six counts, counts one to five are murder, where it is alleged that on 1 December, the accused allegedly shot and killed five individuals who were in Mfuleni at an informal settlement. Count six is that of possession of ammunition.
“They were linked through witnesses and also a photo ID parade was conducted with those witnesses.
“At this stage the State can inform the court that this matter falls under Schedule 6.”
Sinaze requested a seven-day remand to prepare for a bail application, and for the accused to be profiled.
The lawyer added: “We are informed by the investigating officer that the accused might have previous convictions. We do know that there are other matters for which they appeared earlier in another court. They had other accused.
“In this court too, we have two more co-accused for possession of ammunition.”
He said the four were all nabbed on Tuesday and cops found twelve 9mm live rounds and one 9mm magazine in their possession.
The matters were postponed to 12 December.
Patekile commended the team that made the arrest, saying: “The team didn’t sleep the entire 48 hours.”
The top cop said in total seven people were arrested for the mass killing although only two have been charged with murder.
He adds: “We are happy about that. We will continue with our investigation.”
Patekile said they are waiting for the ballistic report to see if the guns found on the suspects were previously used in the commission of the crime.
A relative of one of the murder victims said when she saw the accused she felt traumatised.
“They look so young, they are still children, I felt sorry for their parents.
“I am grateful that the police made the prompt arrest.
“My nephew was only 28 years old and he was a father. When he was killed, he was visiting his child’s mother and his son. He was employed and we don’t know if he was linked to any extortion matters.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za