A 37-year-old teacher and SA Democratic Teachers Union secretary in White River, Mpumalanga has been killed execution-style.
The deceased was with his friend when they were attacked in Sukani Trust outside White River. The friend was also shot dead.
Police said on Thursday that the duo was found laying next to each other in a pool of blood on Wednesday evening.
They sustained gunshot wounds and were declared dead by paramedics on the scene.
During a preliminary investigation, police found a grey VW Polo abandoned on the crime scene. The car keys were found in a pocket of one of the deceased.
The pair’s cellphones and other personal items were also found in their possession.
Lieutenant-General Daphney Manamela, Mpumalanga police commissioner, said six empty 9mm cartridge cases and an empty R1 cartridge case were found on the scene.
After further investigations police established that one of the deceased was a teacher at a local high school and a union secretary.
“Both victims were positively identified by family members. The motive for the killing is unknown at the moment and police have launched an investigation,” said Manamela.
She condemned the killing and called for the community to provide information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators.
“Not only the family members are affected by the brutal murder, but learners who are [currently] sitting for their final examinations will also be psychologically affected.
“That can have negative outcomes on their results.”
Sunday World reported earlier in the week that a 34-year-old teacher was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds near the river in the Eastern Cape.
The teacher was identified as Yonela Mahlungulu from Lusikisiki.
According to police, Mahlungulu left her Ngobozana home to go to work on Friday and never returned.
Police said she was reported missing by her husband, who said she did not report for work and had left her phone at home that day.
Police spokesperson Priscilla Naidu said at the time that a team of investigators was able to trace the route that Mahlungulu’s car had travelled.
With assistance from the K9 search unit, a rescue dog named Bond and members of the community her body was located and her car was found with blood stains.
“A search was launched and the tracker activation picked up a signal at Bukuveni in Flagstaff,” said Naidu.
“The vehicle was recovered with bloodstains in the boot and the car keys in the ignition, and the deceased was found with bullet wounds to the upper body in an area called Mtsila in Lusikisiki.”
