Pretoria – A one-year-old girl, Wanga Ndou, and Ronewa Ndou, 4, are among the seven family members that were fatally shot in the wee hours of Christmas Day by a family member in Malamulele, Limpopo.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has released the names of the seven people who were shot dead at Jimmy Jones village in Malamulele, just minutes after midnight on Christmas Day.
The seven have been identified as follows:
1. Mpho Donald Ndou, aged 33
2. Ndivhuwo Douglas Ndou, aged 33
3. Portia Mabasa, aged 37 [Ndivhuwo’s wife]
4. Rendani Winnus Ndou, a boy aged 12
5. Wanga Ndou, a one-year-old girl. [Ndivhuwo's child)
6. Ronewa Ndou, a four-year-old boy
7. Dakalo Makondo Ndou, a girl aged eight, who died while being transported to hospital
Spokesperson for the police in Limpopo, Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo, said the alleged murderer later handed himself over to police.
“The 52-year-old suspect who was arrested soon after he handed himself over to the police in Thohoyandou has been charged with seven counts of murder and will appear in Malamulele Magistrate’s court on Tuesday 28 December 2021,” said Mojapelo.
“The firearm that was allegedly used in the shooting will be subjected to ballistic tests as part of the unfolding investigations.”
Earlier, Mojapelo said the motive for the multiple murders has not been established but a family feud cannot be ruled out.
Statistics released by Police Minister Bheki Cele last month showed that the rate of murders in South Africa increased by 20,7% in the three-month period between July and September compared to last year, with an overall increase of 1 056 cases.
A total of 6 163 people were killed in total, Cele said while announcing the crime statistics for the second quarter of 2021.
Major-General Norman Sekhukune said most contact crimes like murder, rape and attempted murder had increased.
He added that there were 450 more murder cases in July, 385 in August and 221 in September.
Only the Western Cape recorded a decrease of two cases less than the 1013 reported in the same period last year.
KwaZulu-Natal was leading with 356 cases, followed by Gauteng at 229, Eastern Cape with 83, Free State with 62, North West had 51 cases, Limpopo stood at 43, Mpumalanga at 37, and the Northern Cape recorded 17 cases.
The top 30 police stations included Inanda, Umlazi, Delft, Mfuleni, Plessislaer, Kraaifontein, Harare, KwaMashu, Khayelitsha, and Nyanga.
The causes varied from arguments, revenge, robbery, gang related, vigilantism, death in line of duty, intervention in a fight, taxi related, rape related, commission of another crime and illicit mining.
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