Cape Town - Two suspects have appeared in court for a shooting that left five people dead in Mfuleni on Sunday.
Vuyile Gqomo and Lwando Nakani were taken into custody on Tuesday, and charged with murder and illegal possession of ammunition.
In the presence of provincial police commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, the men appeared in Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where two more accused, Lilitha Phalane and Siphelele Gqomo, joined them on illegal possession of ammunition charges.
State prosecutor, Nomzamo Sinaze, told the court: “The accused are appearing on six counts. Count 1 to 5 are murder, where it is alleged that on December 1, the accused allegedly shot and killed five individuals who were in Mfuleni at an informal settlement. Count 6 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 for a full bail and criminal profile of the accused.
“We are informed by the investigating officer that the accused might have previous convictions. We know that there are other matters for which they appeared earlier in another court.
“In this court too, we have two more co-accused for possession of ammunition.”
Sinaze said it is alleged that on December 3, the accused were arrested after police received information about their whereabouts.
“The police found 12 9mm live rounds and one 9mm magazine in the possession of all four accused persons.”
The matter was postponed to December 12.
Patekile commended the team on the arrest.
“The team didn’t sleep the entire 48 hours. Four people were arrested, but in total seven people were arrested but we see that the charges of murder are preferred for only the two.
“We are happy about that. We will continue with our investigation.”
He added that SAPS was waiting for confirmation of the ballistic report to see if the guns found on the suspects were used in the commission of the crime.
A relative of one of the murder victims said she felt hurt when she saw the accused.
“They look so young. They are still children. I felt sorry for their parents.
“I am grateful that the police made the prompt arrest. What hurts is that our child is gone and will never come back. 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.”