Two gang members, Sikhumbuzo Shaun Mpangane (36) and Bonginkosi Shakoane (24), have together received nine life sentences and an additional 60 years’ imprisonment.

The sentence was handed down by the Mpumalanga Division of High Court in Mbombela on Friday.

According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson Captain Magonseni Nkosi, the Mpumalanga SAPS Anti-gang Unit successfully connected the men to multiple murders.

Nkosi says the two murdered six people in Bushbuckridge. He did not name the victims to respect the families’ privacy.

“Mpangane, a defected member of the ‘Ellesse Gang’, formed his gang known as ‘Covid-19’. He then recruited Shakoane and other members. Mpangane shot and killed his first victim, a rival gang member, while another victim escaped during the attack,” says Nkosi.

The shooting happened two days after Nkosi was released from prison on parole in 2020, after being convicted for the possession of an unlicensed firearm, he adds.

“In 2021, Mpangane and Shakoane shot and killed four members of a family in Madras, Bushbuckridge, while they were sleeping. These victims were the family of the victim who survived an attack on December 16, 2020.

“It was heard in court that the escaped victim was also from a rival gang… He [has been] convicted and [is] serving a life term for a murder,” Nkosi says.

He says when the duo killed their last victim, they set a house alight in Bushbuckridge, which led to their arrests. Mpangane was arrested on June 20, 2021, while Shakoane was apprehended on February 11, 2022.

Mpangane received five life sentences for five counts of murder, 20 years for two counts of attempted murder, seven years for the possession of an unlicensed firearm, five years for kidnapping, five years for housebreaking with the intent to commit murder and five years for assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Shakoane received four life sentences for four counts of murder, 10 years for attempted murder, five years for kidnapping, and three years for assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Both men were declared unfit to possess firearms.