It is said that the community of Area 2 in Mzomusha, KwaBester, Nanda, even blew up fireworks to celebrate the killing of the alleged leader of the West gang on Sunday.
The deceased (20), who is said to have been known as Putin, was said to have been shot dead by members of the public, who were “tired of being made to live in a hole”.
A source who asked not to be named told Iof the country that when the body of the deceased was lying down, other members of the community came again and attacked him with a butcher’s knife, hacking him.
“People did this because they abused the child a lot. He was shooting, he wasn’t playing. If he robbed you, he wouldn’t leave you alive,” said the source.
He went on to say that when the deceased robs someone, he first asks him if he knows who he is.
“He used to say that when someone answered ‘I don’t know’, he said ‘I’m Putin, you already know me, bring the cell phone’, and he gave it to you, and then he shot you,” said the source.
After his murder, a number of videos of him were spread, some of which were filmed while he was still alive, while others were public, showing him dead.
In one of those that were photographed while he was still alive, there is a place where he says that he is hitting himself, saying that he is shooting at each other, he is not playing. In it, he is seen with a gun on his hip, then he takes out one bullet from his pocket and says: “Look, I have a spare”.
Among those who were photographed dead, there are those where he was hacked with a butcher, and there are even those who urinate on him. In it, the faces of those who did this do not appear, but the voices of people are heard rejoicing over his death.
Reports indicate that he was killed by three men, who are said to have found him in the area and surrounded him.
The source revealed that the deceased was very close to two others who were killed by the police late last month, following the brutal killing of students who were found lying in the same area.
Among the suspects there was another who was said to be the leader of West, Mnqobi ‘Number 5’ Mhlongo.
“It is said that the one who was killed by the community was also there when the students were killed but he escaped when the police killed Mnqobi,” said the source.
At the time of Mhlongo’s murder, the police said they were tracking members of the West gang wanted for a series of murders and robberies.
He revealed that when he knocked on a house, no one answered, and when he pushed the door, the suspects opened fire at the police, who returned fire, killing two suspects. He revealed that the matter is being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
At the time It is a country reporting on the killing of students, found that the West is divided. It found that the dead were in love with members of one side, and were killed by the other, saying they were informers.
At that time, Sole Lezwe found out that one of the victims was Anele Khwela (14), who was studying Grade 8 at Mariannridge Secondary, Pinetown. When he was killed, he did not live in the area, but he had attended the funeral of his sister, who had been hidden a few days before his murder. The family lamented that they were blowing out one candle at a time as they were killed while they were burying them.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Magwaza, said the Ntuzuma police have opened a case of murder following the shooting death of a 20-year-old man.
“It is reported that on Sunday, the deceased was in KwaBester when he was shot to death by unknown suspects,” said Magwaza, who said the cause of the killing is still unknown.