A 25-year-old suspect made a brief appearance in the Weenen Magistrate’s Court on Friday, October 9, in connection with 12 murders committed in 2018.
Mlungisi Gezani Hadebe (25) is a suspect in the infamous ‘R74 massacre’ that happened in July 2018. 12 people were killed and five others sustained serious injuries in this shooting. After a lengthy investigation by the investigating officer assigned to the case, Hadebe was arrested on October 6 for multiple murders.
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Last year, a prime suspect in this murder case, Thandukwazi Thusi (42), was arrested and later died in prison while awaiting trial.
The actual crime took place on July 21, 2018, on the R74 between Colenso and Weenen. A taxi‚ ferrying drivers from the Ivory Park Taxi Association in Midrand (Gauteng)‚ was peppered by automatic gunfire as it was returning from a funeral in the Ematimatolo area of Greytown.
The shooting claimed the lives of 12 unarmed taxi drivers, who all sustained multiple gunshot wounds. They were on their way home after attending their boss’s funeral. This massacre robbed numerous families of loved ones, leaving orphans and widows behind.
KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula, has praised the investigating officer for making sure the suspects are brought to book. “I am confident that all those involved in the brutal killing of so many lives will be caught soon,” said Lt Gen Jula.
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