Bullet fired at party after 'gangster' funeral kills 11-year-old boy

A detective task team has been set up to track down the gunmen who randomly fired into the air at a party after a funeral in Port Elizabeth at the weekend, resulting in the death of an 11-year-old child.

Mbasa Dlamini died on Saturday afternoon after he was hit by a stray bullet when random shots were fired at the wake of alleged gangster Siyamthanda “Ncuncu” Ndema.

Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said a preliminary probe into the shooting indicated that the funeral started at 7am at Ndema’s home in Makhubalo Street and ended at about 1.30pm at the cemetery in Motherwell.

“Many of the funeral goers then returned to his [Ndema’s] home where people gathered in the street. The spinning of vehicles also took place in the tightly packed street,” he said.

“At about 2.50pm, several gunshots were fired by unknown gunmen in the street, and one of these shots is suspected to have hit the 11-year-old boy watching the street activities.”

Dlamini was declared dead at Dora Nginza Hospital shortly after arriving.

Asked why no police were on the scene at the time of the shooting, Beetge said officials had been sent to oversee the funeral but were not aware that the party would continue.

“The police had already left the funeral and it was unexpected that this would happen near his house,” he said.

“There is an investigation into the entire funeral and exactly what transpired.”

Ndema was gunned down at about 1.15am on January 7 outside Gqalane's tavern in Makhanda Street, Zwide.

Detectives, who are still investigating the murder, suspect the killing is linked to an ongoing dispute between robbery gangs in the area.

Beetge said Ndema was well-known to police but had never been convicted as most of the cases had been withdrawn.

- HeraldLIVE