Soweto residents and family members of the 16 victims of the Soweto tavern massacre protested outside Orlando Magistrate’s Court following the court appearance of the five suspects alleged to be behind the July 2022 shooting.
"Now that they have been arrested, we hope that justice will prevail and they will face the full might of the law for what they did to us. We are still hurting as members of the community, and we want them to pay," Ntombikayise Jona told The Star outside court.
The NPA said that more arrests are imminent with regards to the Soweto tavern massacre, which resulted in the death of 16 people at KwaMdlalose Tavern on 10 July.
NPA spokesperson Phindi Louw-Mjonondwane told the media that following the court appearance of the alleged killers, they are yet to undergo an identity parade.
Mjonondwane said the five suspects are facing 19 charges of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, robbery and defeating the ends of justice for their suspected roles in multiple killings in and around Soweto.
The suspects made their brief court appearance at the Orlando Magistrate’s Court on Monday, and the case was postponed to 18 October for further investigations.
"The NPA can confirm that the suspects, who appeared in court this morning, are charged on 19 counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder, robbery and defeating the ends of justice. Two of the suspects are South African, while the remainder are Lesotho nationals, " Mjonondwane said.
Mjonondwane said preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspects are involved in an illegal mining syndicate, with some of the suspects allegedly involved in other shootings in Soweto, including in Klipspruit.
"Investigations are progressing very well, and we have come to understand that the suspects might have been involved in a syndicate that seeks to control illegal mining, cable theft and scrap and recycling industries. As the investigations continue, we hope they will yield more answer, " she said.
Last month, the police released a list of names believed to be behind the tavern incident. However, Mjonondwane said, at the moment, the NPA could not conform the identities of the suspects as they are yet to undergo an identity parade to reveal their identities.
"Unfortunately, we cannot, at this stage, confirm if the suspects are the linked to the names of those who were released last month. As stated in court, an identity parade will be conducted, which will be able to identity if the names of the suspects are the same as those released last month, " she said.
Mjonondwane said the process of extraditing more suspects thought to be behind the massacre has already begun.
" The process of extradition more suspects is already begun and is currently underway. The police are working closely with the NPA and other agencies to ensure that the extradition takes place and that the process happens. I do not want to confirm the number of suspects. It is difficult to say exactly how many more suspects will be extradited, but we can confirm that the investigations are ongoing and more arrests are imminent, "she said.
The appearance comes after the police confirmed that they had arrested two suspects linked Nomzamo shooting.
The suspects were arrested on Thursday, 22 September 2022, by members of the National Crime Intelligence.
The suspects were handed over to Gauteng’s Murder and Robbery Investigating Team for further handling and led the team to one of his accomplices, who was arrested in Northern Cape on 23 September 2022.
The team proceeded to arrest two more suspects linked to a murder case for an incident that occurred in Kliptown in October 2021, where a Lesotho musician was killed, the police said.