The first murder, last week Saturday, October 2nd, was committed at a tavern in Siyathuthuka.

According to information from a source, the tavern owner went to switch on a generator after the power went out and returned to find one of his patrons laying on the ground with stab wounds to the head and neck.

This past weekend, three more people lost their lives in a similar fashion.

Shots were fired and one person was hacked to death with a panga at a tavern whilst another victim was picked up next to a road and taken to hospital where he was declared dead. A third victim also succumbed to wounds suspected to have been inflicted by a panga.

Information has it that two rival gangs in Siyathuthuka have been going at it for the past two years.

The first gang to be established was the Tractor Gang, named because members of the gang used to drive around the streets on a tractor. It is alleged that the gang went about beating people up wherever and whenever they deemed fit.

In retaliation, the Maboyeni Boys gang was established, named after the Maboyeni extension in Siyathuthuka. The gang is said to have since split in two, and members are allegedly at war with each other as well as with the Tractor Gang.

A source said that retaliation murders have been going on for some time, with one gang’s members being attacked the one week and the other gang retaliating with an attack thereafter.

Eyewitnesses usually claim to not have seen anything out of fear of retaliation.

Of the three murders that were committed over the past weekend, one is suspected to be that of a Maboyeni Boys member killed by members of the Tractor Gang.

A second murder victim is suspected to be a member of one of the two Maboyeni Boys gangs who was killed by the rival Maboyeni Boys faction.

A third murder, committed in a similar fashion, has been connected to gang violence because of the way it was committed but further details are not available at this stage.

It is further alleged that the gangs are used as ‘gangs for hire’ when someone or a business needs to be intimidated, especially where obtaining tenders are involved. It is also alleged that the gangs have connections to unlicensed guns.

Www.mobserver.co.za is awaiting official response from the Provincial Police Communication Office and will publish it as soon as it is received.