Mpendulo Mhlongo

Masihlala Mhlongo, aged 65, his 40-year-old son Dinyiayini Mhlongo, and his 3-year-old grandson Mpendulo Mhlongo were shot and killed in a brutal night assault on 8 July 2002 at their residence located on the Dunn-Zulu tribal farm in KwaZulu-Natal. The tragedy transpired under the cover of darkness when a group of heavily armed attackers completely surrounded the homestead. The attack was suspected to be directly fueled by fierce factional conflicts regarding the illegal occupation, allocation, and commercial sale of the surrounding agricultural sugarcane lands. The shooters opened fire indiscriminately into the home with firearms, inflicting fatal gunshot wounds on all three generations of the family before fleeing the scene.