SA Police offer R100K reward to find ‘Shumba’ for killing four people in Soshanguve
Gauteng police are offering a R100 000 reward for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the gunmen who opened fire on four people in Soshanguve and burnt two girls – aged 4 and 7 – inside a shack more than two weeks ago.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo said the attacks occurred at the Changing Spots informal settlement on Sunday, 2 June.
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News24 previously reported that a man and a woman were killed in the tavern shooting, while four other people were injured.
“The suspects then proceeded to a shack in the same area, where they allegedly set alight the shack in which two young girls were sleeping. [The children] were both certified dead on the scene,” Masondo said.
A preliminary investigation suggested that the gunmen were after the father of the girls, who was not home at the time.
On Monday, police said they were hunting down one of the suspects, Dennis Nyatsunga or Ngobeni, also known as Shumba, in connection with the four murders.
Police said the suspect was also facing charges of attempted murder and arson.
Masondo said:
“The public is advised not to attempt to apprehend the suspect because he is considered armed and very dangerous.”
On 9 June, police arrested a 35-year-old man in Akasia, in the north of Pretoria, in connection with the shootings at the tavern.
Masondo said police also recovered a vehicle they believe was used “during the commission of the crime”.
“More suspects might be arrested in this case pending further investigation,” Masondo said at the time of the first arrest.
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The man appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, where he was charged with murder and attempted murder relating to the shebeen shooting.
The hearing was in camera because the accused must still undergo an identity parade, and journalists were not allowed inside the courtroom.
However, following the accused’s brief first appearance, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the man had not been linked to the murder of the two girls.
Instead, he has been charged with one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting at the shebeen.
Mahanjana said the accused had also been charged with two counts of arson relating to the setting alight of the shebeen and another home, not the one in which the two girls were sleeping.
The man has also been accused of being in South Africa illegally.
The case was postponed to 19 June.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola condemned the “heinous and senseless” killing of the children.
Lamola said:
He added that it was unconscionable that such a horrific incident occurred during a period when the country was commemorating Child Protection Week from 1 to 7 June.
The minister said the full might of the law must be exercised to ensure justice for the victims and their families.
