Details of Brazen Lenasia Magistrate’s Court Shooting Emerge As Murdered Man Identified, No Arrests

• The Lenasia Magistrate's Court turned into a murder scene after a recent brazen shooting in broad daylight
• The victim of the incident has been identified as Ashwin Mouwers, who was set to testify in a 2021 murder case
• Delmaine Steffensen, whose son Clejean was run over and killed in Eldorado Park, said Mouwers had been a pillar of strength
• Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo told Briefly News there has not yet been an arrest in the case

JOHANNESBURG — Four gunshots, two suspects and one person dead. These were the scenes outside the Lenasia Magistrate's Court, south of Johannesburg, on Tuesday, 21 January 2025.

The incident has kicked into motion an investigation into a witness's murder, executed as he was set to take the stand in court.

Lenasia court shooting victim identified

Now, the mother of the victim of a 2021 killing in Eldorado Park, for which the man killed in Tuesday's gun attack was to give evidence, has become a de facto witness in a second, seemingly connected crime.

Read also

North West constable killed in N4 car crash returning from crime scene identified

The Lenasia court shooting victim has been identified as Ashwin Mouwers. Mouwers, 33, was reportedly smoking in the courtyard when two suspects accosted him and opened fire.

The first witness set to testify in Delmaine Steffensen's son Clejean's murder trial, Mouwers reportedly sustained four shots to the head.

Steffensen described the ensuing incident.

"We were outside the court, and I was [rummaging] inside my bag. I looked up, saw two guns [at] Ashwin’s head, and I froze. [People] started running, but I just stood. [Within seconds], Ashwin was on the ground, bleeding from his head," she said.

Mouwers died at the scene.

Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo told Briefly News no arrests have yet been made.

Steffensen, the witness who was with Mouwers, said his murder had hurt her deeply as he was her only hope for justice for Clejean, who died in hospital after the murder-accused, Donell Cooper, allegedly ran him over with his car.

Read also

Identity of Kruger National Park victim trampled to death by elephant confirmed

"He [Ashwin] was only trying to help me [by testifying in court]. He was the only person to go to court with me every time. He was there even when he wasn't required to be in court," she added.

4 Nabbed for Nigerian man's murder

In a related story, Briefly News reported that four men appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate's Court on Friday, 13 December 2024, after their arrests for the murder of a Nigerian national in Johannesburg.

The suspects allegedly attacked and assaulted the victim to death after a reported dispute at the complex parking of Midrand's Protea Estate.

Source: Briefly News