Six of the nine men initially arrested for the killing of Sadiqah Newman, 26, on the eve of Women’s Day appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Monday August 12 for her murder.
Ms Newman was eight months pregnant, and was shot and killed in a gruesome manner while on her way to the shop in Tambo Village on Thursday August 8 to buy electricity.
According to Constable Natasha Landers, spokesperson for Manenberg SAPS, Ms Newman was accompanied by someone she considered a friend when she went to the shop, just before 10pm.
She said it is suspected that the man who accompanied Ms Newman, was the target of the shooters. He too, was shot and hospitalised. Constable Landers could not however, confirm the extent of his injuries.
“Three people were arrested for the illegal possession of a firearm, and we suspect that this firearm was used in the shooting. Subsequently, another six people were arrested for murder.
“Three of the six arrested for the murder, have since been released due to a lack of evidence,” Constable Landers said.
According to the Daily Voice, Ms Newman’s family are traumatised by the manner in which she was killed. Her father, Yassiem Newman, 51, apparently picked up parts of her brain and put it in a packet. She was shot four times in her head, as well as in her arm and legs.
Members of the police’s Anti-Gang Unit arrested three suspects when they found the suspected murder weapon at a house in Tambo Village. Later, following up on leads, Manenberg detectives arrested six more suspects for the murder, later releasing three of them.
Ms Newman who also had two other children, aged 8 and 6, was the second pregnant woman who was shot and killed in Manenberg in less than a month. Tasneem Simons, 22, who was three months pregnant with her first child, was killed while taking down the washing on Monday July 15, when she was caught in gang crossfire.