On 15 May 2021, a massacre that reverberated throughout the Western Cape began. The murder of one of Yanga Nyalara’s associates, Sikhumbule Nonki, allegedly prompted Nyalara to unleash a reign of terror.

Nkonki was allegedly collecting money extorted from shopkeepers at Tea and Tea Cash Store at X196, on the corner of Banzi Street and Baca Avenue in Site B on the day in question. 

Yanga Nyalara is accused of murdering 18 people in Khayelitsha during May 2021. (Photo: SAPS)

He was allegedly confronted by armed members of a rival group also involved in the extortion of foreign shopkeepers and residents of informal settlements in Khayelitsha. Nkonki was shot execution-style and Nyalara swore revenge. Eighteen people died in the ensuing killing spree.

Yanga “Bara” Nyalara (30) from Brown’s Farm, and his co-accused Wanda Tofile, Manelisi Ngumla and Lundi Zweni, now face 18 counts of murder, six of attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, dealing in and possession of drugs and contravention of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act.

The State contends that Tofile, Ngumla and Zweni are members or associates of the criminal gang Nyalara allegedly uses to violently enforce his criminal activity in the Khayelitsha area.

Twelve of the 18 murder counts relate to gangs vying for a slice of an extortion ring controlled by the “Guptas” and “Boko Haram” gangs in Khayelitsha, which were allegedly behind the earlier massacre that claimed the lives of 12 and injured seven others on 15 May 2021.

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The sprawling suburb of Khayelitsha has been rocked by several mass shootings in the past few months. On 16 June 2022, Major General Vincent Beaton, the cluster commander for the area, said that in the space of a year, 86 people died in shootings in the area.

After the 15 May massacre, Nyalara, along with Tofile and Ngumla, allegedly gathered a posse of between 10 and 15 men.

Armed with firearms, including automatic weapons, Nyalara is alleged to have gathered near the home of the opposing group’s leader, “Phiri”, in Khayelitsha’s Y-section, Site B. According to the summary of facts, Nyalara led his group in pursuit of the rival leader while armed with two automatic rifles.

“The group then proceeded from that point, with the later disclosed goal of retaliating against this group’s shooting of their associate, by targeting informal businesses or randomly targeting community members who happened to be in the vicinity of various informal businesses, in the area known as to be extorted by the opposing group,” reads the summary of facts.

Several people were injured as the gunmen made their way through the streets of Y-section in Site B, firing indiscriminately.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Two more charged in connection with Khayelitsha mass shootings that left several dead”

Those killed at the Tea and Tea Cash Store where Nkonki was executed were Ahmed Abukar Omar and Osman Weydow. They were shot multiple times.

The hunt for Phiri did not end there. On 8 March 2022, he was standing in the street near Nquks Tavern in Khayelitsha’s Y-section.

“Phiri was then approached by Nyalara who immediately produced a firearm and shot him. As he turned and fled, two more shots were fired, which injured him. He was able to escape and make his way to the hospital where he was treated for the gunshot wounds,” reads the summary of facts.

Two months later, on 8 May 2022, a state witness says he was called by co-accused Ngumla to pick him up with his car.

The state claims that Nyalara and Ngulma shot and killed Khayalethu Nelani and Athenkosi Bongolo on the same day. Later that evening, Nyalara’s rival was killed.

“On the evening of 8 May 22, Sivuyile Lubobo, known to be a prominent organised crime figure and leader of a gang of extortionists rivalling Bara, had congregated with his known associate Mthokozisi Mhlakaza, Asanda Nofemale and Fundile Mxhonywa near the corner of Idada and Maphongwana Street in Site C, Khayelitsha, where they were shot at by the accused. Lubobo. Nofemela and Mxhonywa died at the scene while Mhlakaza died later in the hospital,” the State contends.

Nyalara and his co-accused are back in court for pretrial purposes on 10 March 2023. DM