Breaking News: Suspect in mass shooting which left 11 dead near Ladysmith appears in court
With the arrest of one suspect families hope to finally get answers as to why they lost their loved ones
Update: It was initially reported that the suspect was linked to the October 31 mass shooting near Matiwaneskop. Police have, however, confirmed that he is linked to the earlier attempted assassination of Mr Muzikayifani Ngobese: See full story HERE.
A suspect is appearing in A-court today in connection with the mass shooting that left 11 people dead on October 31.
A large group of protesters are outside the court. Heavily-armed police escorted the suspect to the Ladysmith Magistrate’s Court this morning (November 22).
Provincial police communications were unable to confirm or deny the appearance of the suspect when asked.
According to a source close to the investigation and community members from Matiwaneskop, the suspect is definitely linked in some way to the shooting.
Also read: New Video: Mass shooting on the N11 near Ladysmith – 11 dead, taxi boss and daughter killed
Also read: Mass shooting leaves 11 dead (original story)
Also read: Update: Educators tragically killed in mass shooting near Ladysmith named
Full story on shooting
Among the 11 people killed in the brutal ambush on the N11 were a taxi boss, Klipriver Taxi Association deputy chairperson 68-year-old Mr Muzikayifani Ngobese, and his 38-year old daughter, Nozipo Ngobese.
At around 7am on Tuesday, October 31, gunmen waiting in the bushes at the top of a steep hill along the Matiwaneskop (Collings Pass) road opened fire as a Nissan bakkie approached.
Original story: Mass shooting on the N11 near Ladysmith – 10 dead
The shooters riddled the vehicle with bullets.
The driver or an occupant of the bakkie, however, had enough control to keep the vehicle on the road for close to 100 metres before colliding at full speed with an oncoming taxi in its lane.
The taxi was filled with teachers en-route to nearby schools. Four of them were killed instantly, with another teacher dying later in hospital. The driver of the taxi was killed outright.
It is believed that the gunmen, armed with R5s and AK47s, then made their way to the bakkie. Approaching on foot, they executed any survivors in the bakkie – Ngobese, his daughter, two private security guards and Ngobese’s long-serving driver.
They, however, at no time attacked the surviving occupants of the taxi. At least three of the teachers were still alive at this stage.
The ambush was carried out with near-perfect military precision, with the occupants of the bakkie having no chance to escape the deadly massacre.
The suspects then fled the scene in a black BMW, but were later spotted switching vehicles. Police were hunting for a white Toyota Conquest shortly after the attack.
An eyewitness saw three heavily-armed men jumping out of a black car and getting into a waiting white vehicle.
Police from various elite units – including the National Intervention Unit (NIU), Provincial Taxi Task Team, Public Order Policing from Durban and the K9 Unit – were rapidly deployed in the Ladysmith area.
Family of the deceased teachers gathered at the scene in the late afternoon and found it difficult to control their emotions on hearing that their loved ones had died.
The teachers were from Matiwane Primary and Masoyi Secondary School, according to the KZN Department of Education. Most of the teachers lived in Ladysmith and used the taxi as part of a lift club.
A docket of five counts of murder and six counts of culpable homicide was opened at Elangslaagte police station and was transferred to the Provincial Taxi Task Team for investigation.
