"My father, who occupied many pages in my book, unloaded a gun to his family, shot his youngest son through the mouth & missed everyone else," Polela, a former journalist, tweeted on Sunday.

The oldest son, Siyabonga Nzimande, 40, told News24 their father, Mkhethwa Nzimande, 65, shot his brother, Senzekahle Nzimande, in the cheek.

Siyabonga said he, his three brothers and their mother, Thulisile Nzimande, 64, went to get a tractor their father had left parked at a house in Mathondwane, near Ladysmith, on Sunday afternoon.

Mkhethwa had left it there and the homeowners could not get hold of him.

Court ruling

The tractor is the shared property of the mother and father, who are still married.

Siyabonga said their father had allegedly been giving away their goods after a court ruling failed to go in his favour.

Mkhethwa arrived and asked them where they were taking the tractor. Siyabonga said they told him they did not want to fight and were only there to take the tractor home.

He said after allegedly shooting and wounding Senzekahle, their father then tried to fire again, but had run out of ammunition.

Siyabonga said his fourth brother, Sinethemba Nzimande, 34, managed to overpower their father before he could reload.

“He held him down while we managed to disarm him. As soon as we had the gun, we knew we had to let the law take its course. Two hours later, the police arrived,” said Nzimande.

Siyabonga said the police then arrested him.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala, said local residents assaulted the father. He was taken to a local police hospital under police guard and would appear in court once he had been discharged.

A case of attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm was opened at the Elandslaagte Police Station.

-News24.com