Eastern Cape police made a major breakthrough with the arrest of three people in connection with a Willowvale mass shooting which claimed the lives of seven people, including four family members, one of whom was an eight-year-old boy.
The news of the arrest was announced by community safety MEC Xolile Nqatha at a community safety imbizo at Bhojini in Willowvale on Saturday.
“We have effected three arrests relating to the killing of the September family,” he said.
“There were planned murders here where criminals even picked up cartridges at the scene so that police could not collect any for investigation.”
Though the MEC did not elaborate further, it is believed the suspects were arrested on Thursday while fleeing to the Western Cape
The tiny town of Willowvale and its surrounding villages are notorious for murders and drug-related crimes.
“We have drug lords fighting over drugs and terrain and those involved in extortion crimes,” Nqatha said.
“Drugs and extortion are prevalent in Willowvale [and they are] the root cause of the many murders.”
He said that since 2019 there had been more than 50 murder cases in the area and at least eight of them had occurred in Bhojini since 2021.
Nqatha said to boost policing in Willowvale, 18 extra officers had already been allocate to the area this year.
“To build our capacity in the fight against crime, in this financial year alone we will allocate a total of 40 police officers.
“Eighteen of those have already been allocated and the rest will be allocated in June and there are additional vehicles. The community is quite frightened by these [crimes].”
Four Mthatha family members — Nkqubela September, 43, his wife, Busisiwe, 42, their sons Luyolo, 22, and, Iviwe, 8, and family friend Lubabalo Khumalo Mazwana also of Mthatha and Xolani Klawushe Meje, 23, of in KuMabala village in Willowvale, were travelling in a Mazda 3 to conduct a ritual in the Meje homestead when they were ambushed at the nearby Nxanxashe village on May 19.
Nkqubela was a sangoma, his son was his trainee and his wife was a seamstress.
He had been contracted to conduct rituals at the homestead of Meje, with whom he was travelling from Johannesburg via Mthatha to KuMabala.
The body of Bongani Maleki (age unknown), from the Sinqumeni administrative area in Dutywa, was found near a Toyota Fortuner and a WV Polo with blood inside were found at the scene.
Maleki, the Toyota Fortuner and the VW Polo were not travelling with the September family.
The four September family members will be buried at KuNgolo near Mthatha on Saturday and Mazwana on Thursday.
September family spokesperson Misokuhle Gcingca said they had been informed of the arrests.
“We applaud the police for the swift arrest, we were not expecting that in that situation suspects can be arrested even before we can bury [loved ones].
“We will now bury our loved ones and know what happened and who killed them,” Gcingca said.
“According to what we hear, our family was at the wrong place at the wrong time and that it was a case of mistaken identity.
“All we want is for [those responsible] to be denied bail and sentenced to life.
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