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Mourners gather at the memorial service of the Soshanguve mass shooting victims.
The brutal murder of six community patrollers in Soshanguve north of Pretoria has ignited renewed calls for urgent government intervention in crime-ridden communities. The patrollers were stoned and set alight on Saturday at Marry Me informal settlement.
Two suspects appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and their case was postponed to 1 April for further investigations.
The six were remembered at a memorial service on Wednesday.
The Sesoko family is battling to accept their tragic loss. Siblings Tshegofatso and Philemon are among the murdered patrollers.
Philemon succumbed to his injuries after being shot and set alight, while Tshegofatso remains in hospital.
Sesoko Family Spokesperson Augustine Mokela says they have not yet broken the news to Tshegofatso about his brother’s demise.
“As we speak, Tshegofatso is still in hospital. We have not told him about his brother’s passing because we are scared he will not recover. We have lost a great deal as a family. Philemon leaves behind a wife and three children. They were both unemployed, and all their children are still go to school,” says Mokela.
For Katlego Motloutsi, patrolling was a means to support his family, as no one in his family is employed.
His aunt, Magdeline Motlutsi, says they have lost a brave man.
“Katlego, amongst them all, was the first to be killed. I take it he was the first to fight back because he does not give up easily. He was a hero,” says
Mmamma Tshokwe, the aunt of Seleki Ngkoeng, says the young man had a bright future ahead of him.
“He just matriculated in 2024. We were waiting for great things from him. He was always respectful, a child who honoured his parents,” says Tshokwe.
Tshwane Executive Mayor, Dr Nasipi Moya, criticised the government for failing to listen to the cries of its people.
“Thirty-one years into democracy, us as government want to listen now because these six men have lost their lives. What kind of deaf government are we? We’ve been talking, communities have spoken to us and said we want to be safe in our country; we want to experience this democracy that some have fought for,” adds Moya.
This afternoon, the City of Tshwane’s Mayoral Executive Committee joined the provincial government, led by Premier Panyaza Lesufi, at the memorial service hosted in honour of six community patrollers who were killed at the Marry Me Informal Settlement. We send our condolences to… pic.twitter.com/GDxJbiaupJ
— Dr Nasiphi Moya (@nasiphim) March 26, 2025
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi condemned the police, saying the deaths could have been prevented had they been doing their job.
He called for a complete overhaul of the Soshanguve police station.
“The police station in Soshanguve needs to be overhauled. Because the way it is operating and the way it’s providing services is, unfortunately, creating problems for our communities. And to the Minister [Police Minister Senzo Mchunu] if the police were doing their work, there would have been no need for these young people to patrol,” explains Lesufi.
