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Pretoria - The identities of two security guards who were killed by a mob in Hammanskraal on Monday remain veiled in mystery.
One of them was beaten to death and the other burnt alive after violent protests broke out in the area following an eviction attempt by authorities.
Tshwane MMC for Housing and Human Settlements, Joshua Ngonyama, said the names of the men were known to them, but he was unwilling to share this information with the public.
"All the people who have died are known to us. We will be going there [to the families] with the executive mayor and the MEC to show our condolences. We are very aggrieved; it was a very sad state of affairs," he said.
City responsible for identification
City of Tshwane spokesperson Blessing Manale was not available to comment on whether the City would be assisting with the burial of the two men or not.
Police spokesperson Tshekiso Mofokeng said the responsibility of identifying the men lies with the City.
Red Ant Security and Eviction Services spokesperson Carol Muller said their company had been contracted by the Gauteng provincial government to carry out the evictions.
She said the two men that were killed had been employed by another company which fell outside of their control.
News24 understands that the two men were employed by Majories Trading Enterprise.
According to the company's website, they are "a force to be reckoned with in the construction, supplies and security sectors".
Abruptly-ended phone calls
When contacted by News24, a woman who identified herself as Nomsa first confirmed we had reached the offices of Majories, but then insisted it was the wrong number.
After several abruptly-ended phone calls she admitted that she worked for Majories, and passed on a number for "the boss", known to her only as "Ephraim".
A search of publicly available documents revealed that the number provided belonged to Irvin Ephraim Lamola, who listed his employer as Majories.
When contacted on the number, which is also listed on the website, a man who identified himself as "Sipho" insisted that he was in no way linked to the company.
According to the website, the company's director is one Marjorie Lindiwe Lamola.
It was unclear if the two Lamolas are linked.
