By Emily Setona
QWAQWA – The community of Makwane is gripped by fear and disbelief after a supposedly good-natured 16-year old boy mowed down his entire family by shooting his mother, stepfather, and five-year-old brother.
The boy was arrested after the Community Patrol Forum (CPF) called Bontate ba diphafa got a tip off from community members that the young boy was driving around in a car belonging to his stepfather, so they followed up on this matter until they got hold of the boy parked at a braai spot and interrogated him as to where the owner of the car was.
“We realized that this young boy was continuously driving around in his stepfather’s car, and this made us very suspicious as CPF leaders. We pursued the car until we found the boy with two of his male friends and a girl in the car parked at a popular braai spot in the area.
“We confronted the boy because there was a gun in the car, so we asked him where the owner of the car was. The boy tried to beat around the bush, so we went to his home with him only to discover three dead bodies lying in a pool of blood in the house,” Bontate ba diphafa member Mohlophehi Radebe told the media.
Community members who knew the boy are in shock and disbelief that the boy was was actually capable of such an atrocity. The boy was known to be good-natured and doing well at school, so they comprehend how he could he shot and killed his 41-year old mother, 63-year old stepfather and hacked his five-year old brother with a pick axe.
In an interview with the media, Mankadimeng Sifatsa said: “I am truly very shocked because he was such a good boy. He used to greet me when passing by my house and he performed well at school. I don’t know how the devil got into his heart, but I really cannot believe that a boy from this family has done such a terrible thing. As parents we are frightened of our own children because we just don’t know what could possibly trigger them to kill in cold blood.”
According to Thabo Mofutsanyana’s warrant officer Mmako Mophiring the cause for this act is unknown and the young boy appeared in court on January 30 and is expected to appear again on February 29.
In an interview with The Guard, Mophiring said. “The boy appeared in court on January 30 and is expected to appear again on February 29. The reason for these murders is still unknown but hopefully it will be revealed to us during his trial. The boy has been charged with three counts of murder and the illegal possession of a firearm with live ammunition. The name of the accused cannot be revealed because he is a minor but the names of the deceased are Malefu Mkwanazi, the stepfather is Monyane Mopeli and the brother is Tankiso Mkwanazi.”
