A 70-year-old Hammanskraal taxi boss has been arrested after he allegedly shot his grandson 11 times, killing him.
Pitros Maluleke, who owns eight taxis, allegedly shot flight attendant Tisa Maluleke, 25, at their home in New Eersterus, in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, at the weekend.
Police spokesman Constable Herman Moremi said: “It is alleged that the suspect had an argument with his grandson. The old man got angry and went to the bedroom and came back with a firearm. He shot the victim several times on the upper body. When the police arrived at the scene, they found the victim in the kitchen in a pool of blood and 11 cartridges on the floor.”
Moremi said a case of murder had been opened. Maluleke appeared in the Moretele Magistrate’s Court on Monday and was remanded in custody.
Yesterday, Sowetan visited the home, which was locked, with two dogs and chickens in the yard.
Neighbours who did not want to be named said they were shocked, and said Maluleke’s relatives had left the house on Tuesday.
One of the neighbours said Tisa had gone out to buy vegetables and cooked for his grandfather.
“They lived together in the house. He was a responsible boy who took care of [Maluleke]. He cooked, cleaned and washed for him. He had just cooked Sunday food for him,” she said.
“I heard four shots while I was inside the house. I went outside and the shots kept going off. At some stage I thought someone was using a hammer because the sound continued over and over.”
Another neighbour said Maluleke took in his grandson when he was a toddler. “He raised him since he was a child and took him to school,” the neighbour said.
A third neighbour said he used to intervene whenever there was a dispute between the two. “They never had major disputes. I don’t know what happened this time. They were so close,” he said.
The neighbour said he got home an hour after the shooting.
“I went to the house and I heard him [Maluleke] talking on the phone, saying ‘I killed him, you will find him here’. I then called the police,” he said.
“After the police arrived, I asked him why he did it and he said he has been patient for some time. He said it was time and we should cry and satisfy ourselves.”
Tisa had just completed training as a flight attendant, a course his grandfather had paid for.
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