By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
SA Police Service (SAPS) in Eastern Cape have arrested the last suspect being sought for the mass murder of 18 people in Lusikisiki.
Provincial police spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Siphokazi Mawisa, says the man was arrested by members of the provincial serious and violent crime investigation unit on Sunday in Qonce, formerly King Williams Town.
She said the 20-year-old man was arrested after police searched a bus heading to Cape Town.
Mawisa said he will be charged along with his seven co-accused and will appear in court soon.
The mass shooting, which shocked the country, took place in September 2024 when gunmen mowed down mostly women in two homesteads in the Lusikisiki area.
The incident was widely condemned, including by Eastern Cape premier, Oscar Mabuyane, who described the murders as a devastating loss to the province.
The latest arrest brings to eight the number of suspects arrested for the grisly attack in which the victims were reportedly mowed down with automatic weapons.
One of the suspects, Mzukisi Ndamase (46) was taken into custody from a Correctional Centre where he is serving a life sentence for murder and robbery.
The other co-accused are Siphosoxolo Myekethe, 45, Aphiwe “AP” Ndende, 25, Lwando Antony Abi, 33, and Bonga Hintsa, 31, Zenande Paya, 38, and Mawethu Nomdlembu, 36, who have all since abandoned bail.
Eastern Cape provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene has welcomed the arrest of the suspect.
Mene thanked the public for sharing valuable information that led to the arrest of all mass shooting suspects.
“I have commended the team and applauded them for tirelessly ensuring that those responsible for the Lusikisiki mass shooting are facing the full might of the law.”