A KwaZulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) employee, her mother and her two children were gunned down at their home in KwaMtholo in Mtubatuba on Wednesday morning.

Provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Jay Naicker, said when police arrived at the scene, the family was still inside the house which had also been set on fire.

“According to a survivor, at around midnight a knock was heard on the door and a suspect was spotted with a firearm in his hand. Shortly afterwards the witness heard gunshots being fired in the house.

“Two women and two children were sleeping in the house. The suspects torched the house before fleeing through the window.”

The deceased were identified as Thembelihle Dlamini (60), Nokuthula Dlamini (42), Sanele Dlamini (7) and Alondwe Khanyile (three months old).

The motive for the killings is not known at this stage, said Naicker.

Provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, said a dedicated task team consisting of police officers from the district and province has been tasked to investigate these brutal murders and bring the perpetrators to book.

“We will not rest until the suspects are traced and arrested.

Cogta saddened by death of employee

Cogta MEC Sihle Zikalala has condemned the brutal murder.

“We are devastated and saddened by the unbearable news of the brutal murder of Nokuthula Dlamini who worked for the department as a community development worker for Ward 16 in the Mtubatuba Local Municipality,” he said.

“It is time that our law enforcement agencies take the fight to the next level. We appeal for the cooperation among all agencies to bring these acts to a complete stop. We want our women and children to feel safe in our province.

“These barbaric and inhumane acts of utmost violence have no place in our society. September is Heritage Month, and in our African culture even during a war, our women and children remain sacrosanct! This cowardice is foreign to us.

“We also appeal to our communities to come forward with information that will assist law enforcement agencies to apprehend the criminals,” said Zikalala.