Durban — Four people were shot and three died at Mpola in Mariannhill, Pinetown, on Wednesday night.
It is alleged that four armed men shot and killed 63-year-old General Phungula, his wife Thulisile, 54 and a neighbour, Sifiso Khomo, 47.
It is alleged that the armed men, whose faces were not covered, passed by Khomo’s unfenced house to gain access to the Phungula household which is fenced and has CCTV cameras.
A source, who asked to remain anonymous as he feared for his life, said that when these men passed Khomo’s house he asked them who they were and where they were going.
“Khomo then went to fetch the grass slasher and that is when they fatally shot him,” said the source.
The source said when the four men gained entry into the Phungula house they asked for Thulisile. On their way to her bedroom they bumped into the husband and shot him dead in front of an 8-year-old child.
It is alleged that they proceeded to kill Thulisile and shot another family member who survived.
“When the shooting happened there were kids in the house between the ages of eight and 13,” said the source.
The Phungula family is related to Sihle Mtshare who is alleged to have been killed by a former police officer from Mariannhill police station, Sergeant Ayanda Ntombela, who is out on bail. When Mtshare was allegedly arrested by Ntombela he was reportedly at the Phungula household.
When the Daily News went to the Phungula home, a family member said Phungula and his wife saw on their CCTV that there were men jumping the fence and coming to the house but they could not do anything as it happened so fast and they had no weapon.
“The gunmen who opened fire and killed our family went to remove the CCTV hard drive and fled the scene. The kids who were in the house were left traumatised, the youngest who is 8 years old was very close to his grandfather. She hasn’t said a word since last night,” said the family member.
The family member believed that Thulisile knew she was going to die as she had told her colleagues that her last day at work was November 30.
The neighbours said Thulisile’s actions in the last few days were those of someone who knew she did not have long to live.
When the Daily News arrived at the Phungula household, one family member said they often received threats – it had become the norm.
Another said Thulisile had asked him to visit her at 6am on Thursday so they could talk. The source alleged that there were disputes in the family.
KZN police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo confirmed the incident, saying that the Mariannhill police responded to the crime scene in the early hours of Thursday.
Daily News