Roots of tavern massacre could lie in online scam
Tavern owner denies involvement with syndicate terrorising Pretoria
An online scam operating in Gauteng has being linked to the murder of four people at a tavern in Winterveldt, northwest Pretoria.
Noah Ikaneng was shot three times at close range, with one bullet hitting him in the head. His girlfriend Mmathapelo Nkoana was shot in the chest. They both died on the spot – in the yard of the tavern in an area known as Small Giyani on April 11.
Tholi Alfred Mokgari was gunned down and later died at Dr George Mukhari Hospital in Ga-rankuwa. Tshepo Mokwena, Ikaneng’s cousin, died the next day at Kgabo Clinic.
In the aftermath of the killings in the small township near Soshanguve, outraged community members are pointing fingers at the owner of the tavern, Johannes Mogashoa.
They accuse the 48-year-old Mogashoa of being involved with robbery syndicates known in the area as scanai, who find their victims online.
“They advertise goods, from cars, rental homes, machinery and business tools to home appliances on social media and online classified platforms. Sometimes they pretend to be buyers,” said an informant close to the investigation.
“The robbers would agree to meet with a potential buyer or seller at the Engen garage on the main road, but instead they send a child aged 14 to 17 to fetch the victim with the excuse that the uncle who is selling the goods is busy at the shop.
“By the time the victim realises what is happening it is too late, an ambush is already awaiting. In some instances the victims are led to taverns and robbed there.”
Mogashoa said he is shattered by the allegations the community were making against him, but said he will not run away. “They can do anything they want. I’ve put all of this in God’s hands.
“I grew up with these people, they were like my family,” he said referring to Ikaneng, Nkoana and Mokwena.
“I wish I were dead. The people who would be able to tell us the truth about what happened have all died.”
Mogashoa said he and his mother Maria Selobane are the only people who survived the shooting. He said Mokgari was Selobane’s partner.
“The community is against me, saying I robbed people. Others say I work with scanai.
“Yes, around 2020 there were some foreigners who liked to come to my place to chill and they used rob people of gold and cars, but I chased them away when I heard this.”
Mogashoa said he has been in business for 34 years, having started by selling sweets and cigarettes. He said he opened the tavern in Small Giyani in 2018.
He said on day of the shooting he had gone to sleep early because he was not feeling well and had taken some medication to treat a cold. He said he left Ikaneng and Nkoana outside, while his mother was sitting with Mokgari in the house.
“Tshepo [Mokwena] had not arrived when I went to sleep.”
“I was sleeping when I heard gunshots. I saw that Uncle [Mokgari] was shot, but he was still alive. Noah and Mmathapelo were already dead.
“Moses was running away in the street and his sister took him to the clinic.”
A source close to the Loate police said the station is inundated with complaints by victims of the online predators, adding there were more than 200 open dockets related to the robberies.
“People come from near and far to be robbed of their belongings here. This scanai is a big problem,” said the source.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lieutenant-colonel Mavela Masondo confirmed the murders.
“A manhunt has been launched to apprehend the suspect that is linked to four murders following an attack at a local tavern in Winterveldt, Loate on Monday, 11 April,” he said.
He refused to draw any link between the murders and the scanai syndicate.
People come from near and far to be robbed of their belongings here