Mamelodi’s Boko Haram gang member killed in hail of bullets

A Boko Haram gang member has been killed in a hail of bullets, while his girlfriend suffered injuries on the N4 near Diamond Hill Toll Plaza on Tuesday.

Boschkop police responded to a shooting incident at about 12pm, on the N4 Highway near Diamond Hill Toll Plaza where a man was killed and his girlfriend was injured.

According to Brigadier Brenda Muridili, the police arrived at the scene and were told by a witness that a black VW Polo was shot at by occupants of a silver grey Mercedes Benz. The driver of the Polo lost control of the vehicle, which came to a stop not far from the road.

The driver of the Polo was declared dead on the scene, while the passenger was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds.

“Preliminary investigations on the scene identified the deceased as 35-year-old Phillip Given Mnguni. The Task Team established to investigate gang activities in Mamelodi had already linked him to several cases linked to the Boko Haram,” said Muridili.

Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, has directed the Task Team to continue with the profiling of the deceased and to ensure that investigations into all the crimes that he was accused of are completed.

“This particular deceased was the number one wanted suspect in our investigations into the Boko Haram activities that were happening in Mamelodi. There has not, in recent times, been any reports of gang-related murders in Mamelodi since the deployment of the Task Team as well as Visible Policing members. This indicates that the measures that we have put in place to stabilize gang-related crime are starting to bear fruits,” said Lt Gen Mawela.

The police are on the lookout for the silver Mercedes Benz that was allegedly used by the shooters.

No one has been arrested yet and the police have registered a case of murder and attempted murder.

Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde