The community of Brakpan remains in shock following a deeply disturbing incident in which Sergeant Brian Mngadi, stationed at Brakpan Police Station, allegedly murdered his wife and injured several family members before turning the gun on himself.

He later fled the scene.

African Times secured a WhatsApp voice note recorded by Sergeant Mngadi just before the incident.
Inside his idling car, he sounded distraught:
“I smile at work so people think everything is fine—but I do it for the sake of my children. They are the reason l’ve kept going.”

He said he has been experiencing hardship in his relationship and accused his wife of allegedly poisoning him at some point.

He conveyed a sense of isolation:
“It’s easy to judge when you don’t face the same struggles… No one really notices when men are hurting.”

Though he acknowledged the impending violence couldn’t be justified, he appeared emotionally
overwhelmed and indicated his intention to end his life near his wife’s home.

He admitted that what he planned was unjustifiable, but insisted that his personal pain had become unbearable. “Things may have looked fine from the outside, but I was going through a lot. I am going to end it,” he concluded.

Minutes later, he carried out the attack.

A close friend who had known Mngadi for more than a decade described him as “a humble, gentle person who never quarreled with anyone.” He recalled attending Mngadi’s wedding and said, “He was always smiling, calm, and respectful. Even when some of our friends were arrested for drunk driving, he never mistreated them. I cannot believe he did this.”

A Brakpan resident echoed the sentiment: “He was always cheerful.

As a community, we are shocked and dismayed. It’s hard to understand what came over him.”
African Times unfortunately did not manage to get hold of the family of the wife; however, their comment would be included at a later stage..

IPID on Thursday confirmed to African Times that indeed the Sergeant shot and murdered his wife, injured his family, before shooting himself.

“An inquest docket has been opened after the Brakpan Police Sergeant allegedly killed himself and wife following a domestic dispute,” said IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping in a statement.

It is alleged that, on 25 August 2025, at about 16:30, the Station Commander of the Brakpan Police Station contacted the accused officer, who was out on work assignment in the Tsakane area, informing him that they needed to serve him with a protection order that the wife had obtained against him. The Station Commander also requested the Sergeant to hand over his firearm at the police station and provide proof afterwards.

“The wife decided to stay overnight at her parents’ home in Brakpan after an engagement with the Police Management at the station.

“The Sergeant allegedly followed the wife to her parents’ home where he fired shots which fatally wounded the wife, injured two kids aged between 15 and 13, the wife’s mother and their domestic worker. All those who survived were taken to various medical centres for treatment,” said Suping.

After the incident, the accused allegedly fled the crime scene in his car and was located in Secunda, Mpumalanga, through a tracking device. It is further alleged that when he realised that the police were on his trail, he turned the gun on himself, killing himself.

“At the Brakpan crime scene, 15 cartridge cases were discovered together with eight bullet fragments, one live bullet and two- five litre bottles of petrol,” said Suping.