Thapelo Lekabe

By Thapelo Lekabe

Senior Digital Journalist


10 family members shot and killed in Pietermaritzburg

The victims included seven women and three men from the same family.


Ten people from the same family have been gunned down after a group of armed men stormed their home in Imbali township in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal.

Family members gunned down

The incident is understood to have occurred during the early hours of Friday in Unit 14, according to the African National Congress (ANC) Moses Mabhida region.

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The victims included seven women and three men.

South African Police Service (Saps) members and Police Minister Bheki Cele are on the crime scene.

“The leadership of the ANC led by the regional chairperson, cadre Mzimkhulu Thebolla, head of peace and stability, cadre Fanle Sibisi, and regional spokesperson, cadre Njabulo Mtolo together with ANC branch leadership are also on the scene,” the ANC said in a statement.

Four shot dead in KwaMashu

The mass shooting in Pietermaritzburg comes after four people were killed at B Section in KwaMashu, Durban, on Thursday afternoon.

According to the police, the four deceased were sitting together in one room when about four suspects entered the room and opened fire. 

“Two of the deceased are brothers who lived in the same house, one was a neighbour and the other deceased was a friend who had visited from Phoenix, reportedly a night before,” said police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda.

The suspects reportedly fled the scene in a vehicle belonging to the deceased who had visited. 

Netshiunda said motive of the shooting was unknown and no arrests were made.

Additional reporting by Khethukuthula Xulu, The Witness

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