DRINKING CULTURE TO BLAME FOR BROTHERS’ MURDER

LETINDZE – The brutal killing of two siblings by a mob last Tuesday has put the spotlight on a growing drinking culture by the youth around Letindze.

Community members who were left shattered by the violence meted out on the members of a Mamba homestead in the area by a rowdy crowd, which carried an assortment of weapons including bush knives and machetes, believe that ‘Dutch courage’ is needed to carry out such horrific acts that a few would ever dream of committing on a normal day.

“Clearly, no sober person would commit such a horrendous crime. We have the mushrooming drinking spots to blame for the surge of violent crimes in the area.

Peaceful

“Before the drinking culture we lived a peaceful life, but with the advent of alcoholic beverages and drunks, things changed around the area,” lamented a community member, after the residents shared the same opinion, following the gruesome attack on the siblings who were identified as Muzi and Mxolisi Mamba by the incensed mob on Christmas Eve.

The anxious residents had converged at the bereaved homestead, following the attack that left most community members devastated.
During the gathering of the over 100 residents, it was decided that a community meeting needed to be convened, where members would discuss the issue of the drugs/alcohol that have pervaded the community and further find solutions for the societal malaise. Local constituency councillor Sifiso Khumalo confirmed the plan to have a meeting to address the drug/alcohol scourge in the area.

“As residents, we have agreed on a meeting after the funeral, where we will discuss the issue of the violence in the area and what makes this kind of aggression possible. However, during our brief discussions, the residents concurred that the issue of the mushrooming drinking spots or shebeens should be looked into,” he said.

The two siblings died after a gang of about 11 stormed their homestead and vandalised everything on sight. The men reportedly entered the homestead shortly after 3pm on Christmas Eve, armed with weapons including machetes, stones, knives, bush knives and a spear. Witnesses spoke of a terrifying moment as the rowdy crowd which arrived in a van, started vandalising a house, which they pelted with stones, destroying everything on their way until they forcefully gained entry into the house.

Battering

Once inside, they started battering the two Mamba brothers identified as Muzi (31) and Mxolisi (29), who were retrieved from a bedroom they had sought refuge in when the violent men approached the homestead. At the time when the gang arrived, the 31-year-old was busy helping his younger sibling to dress a wound he had sustained during a fight that broke out at a nearby drinking spot, where he allegedly quarrelled with another man he was once involved in yet another squabble at a funeral in the area a few weeks earlier on.

Patrons at the local watering hole said they were socialising with friends when they suddenly saw punches being exchanged by the pair. Apparently, the fight emanated from a longstanding grudge, which started after one of the two opponents got stabbed at a funeral which was held in the area a few weeks ago. A witness said one of the men suffered bruises during the fight while the other one got stabbed in that skirmish.
Witnesses described what followed thereafter as disorder.

The gang of about 11 young men or so is said to have later arrived driving in a van which they parked nearby the drinking spot. Within moments, the homestead was turned into a fierce battle ground, with blood splattered across the house and outside where the confrontation spilled out.
“They were viciously attacking everything. Some of the occupants of the homestead saved their skin by running away while the mob was still searching for their targets,” narrated an eyewitness.

The violent attack resulted in the two brothers being killed, one after the other. Police rounded up nine people from the area following the bloody attack and they are yet to appear before court.

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