Gun violence continues to grip Mpumalanga, with two more people shot dead in the Hazyview and Calcutta policing areas, bringing the death toll to 11 murders in just 10 days.

The latest killings follow nine murders recorded in the same areas since December 30, underscoring a growing crisis of gun-related violence.

In the most recent incidents, a woman in her 50s and a local soccer coach were killed in separate shootings on Monday and Tuesday.

Body and spent cartridges found near dumping site

Hazyview police received information about a shooting at the Shabalala Trust area, outside Hazyview, at around 20:20 on Tuesday (January 6).

On arrival, officers found the body of a man lying next to a local dumping site. Paramedics declared him dead at the scene.

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jabu Ndubane said officers recovered 18 spent rifle cartridges and five pistol cartridges at the scene.

“The motive for the attack is unknown at this stage, and an investigation is under way,” Ndubane said.

Community members told police that two other men were seriously injured in the shooting and had already been transported to hospital by ambulance.

The deceased was later identified as Dumisani Ally Magagula, a coach for the local soccer club Countryside Masters.

Children hear gunshots as mother is murdered

In a separate incident, a 52-year-old woman was murdered at her home in the Hlangalezwe section of Mkhuhlu in the early hours of Monday (January 5).

Ndubane said police on patrol received information about the shooting shortly after midnight and rushed to the scene. On arrival, a woman identified herself as the victim’s daughter.

She led officers to the back of the house, where they found the body of Sylvia Goodness Mnisi (52) leaning against a JoJo tank, with a gunshot wound to her forehead.

The victim’s daughter told police she had been asleep in her bedroom when she heard her mother screaming and calling her name. She then heard male voices inside the house and her mother being dragged outside.

Too afraid to leave her room, she later checked on her younger brother. When they went to look for their mother, she was no longer inside the house.

Police found that the garage door had been forced open and the door to the victim’s bedroom damaged.

While searching the house, the children heard two gunshots outside, followed by the sound of people fleeing the yard.

“When they looked through the window, they saw three unknown men running away,” Ndubane said.

A short while later, they went outside and discovered that their mother had been killed.

Police recovered one spent pistol cartridge at the scene. No arrests have been made, and investigations are ongoing.

Between December 30 and 31, five people were shot and killed in Hazyview and Calcutta in the timespan of 24 hours.

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