As the families of the patrons killed at Mdlalose’s Tavern in Nomzamo informal settlement in Soweto prepare to bury their relatives this weekend, the police are still in the dark about who pulled the trigger.
“Currently there are no suspects arrested but a team of investigators is on the ground following any leads received. No information is taken lightly,” said Gauteng police spokesperson Dimakatso Sello.
Last week police minister Bheki Cele had said that police have identified five suspects while Gauteng MEC for community safety Faith Mazibuko said police have obtained a video that will assist investigators search for clues in the Mdlalose Tavern murders case.
The footage suggests that those who opened fire are part of a gang of Lesotho nationals who also killed a rival gang member in Klipspruit hours before the massacre at Mdlalose's Tavern in Orlando.
Lerotha Hlabanyane, 44, was shot several times outside his rented home at about 9pm, just a few hours before the tavern shooting.
Hlabanyane’s mother, Mariam, said the deceased had recently left the gang and his decision was not well received by his peers.
“My son assured me and his wife that he has changed his ways. He was working in a construction plant and was taking good care of us here in Johannesburg.
“We are aware that most of his friends from Lesotho did not want him to leave the gang. All those friends have not visited or called us since his passing,” said his mother.
Hlabanyane’s family and neighbours said they did not see who killed the father of one. But on the night he was killed, bystanders also heard more gunshots ringing out nearby.
“While we were standing with the police where my husband was killed we heard the sounds of gunshots coming from Nomzamo informal settlement. This was approximately three hours after my husband was killed,” said Hlabanyane’s wife, Madineo Nkete.
Police have opened a murder case in the Hlabanyane matter and no arrests have been made.
Fifteen families have identified 16 of the people who were killed at Mdlalose's. Most of those identified are from Umzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal.
Thabo Koepe, 34, is the only Lesotho national who was killed at the tavern. Allegations are that Koepe was part of a Lesotho gang and he was the person targeted by the gunmen, but police didn't want to be drawn into speculating on the allegations.
“Unfortunately I cannot confirm those allegations about Lesotho gangs. As already indicated, our team of investigators is on the ground to establish the motive behind the shootings and eventually arrest perpetrators,” said Sello.
Police have secured statements from all those admitted to hospital.
Meanwhile, police are still piecing together information around a group of men who shot several people who were playing a game of dice at Thembelihle in Lenasia on Saturday night.
Four people were killed and two sustained bullet wounds in the shooting. No arrests have been made in this case.
“The unfortunate shooting incidents that happened in Gauteng in the past two weeks cannot be confirmed to be related. We are not at liberty to discuss the investigation progress in the public space,” said police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo.
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