An Umlazi man accused of orchestrating the brutal home invasion‚ which left four members of the same family dead‚ made a brief appearance in the Umlazi Magistrate’s court on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old hung his head in the dock before he was remanded in custody‚ expected to spend the next week behind bars. His case has been moved to the Pietermaritzburg High Court.

He faces four counts of murder‚ two of attempted murder‚ one charge of rape and two for contravention of the firearms control act.

 There was a heavy police presence at the courtroom‚ which was packed with angry community members. Amid their protests‚ they also threatened to track down other men they believe were involved in the brutal mass murder.

The suspect‚ along with another man — who was shot dead by police after neighbours alerted officers to the sounds of screams and gunshots — are alleged to have brutalised the Mzila family during a home invasion in the early hours of Saturday morning‚ shortly after they had gone on a shooting spree in a local tavern.

Nompilo Mzila‚ 27‚ said the two gunmen killed her sister Hlengiwe while her one-year-old nephew clung to the 35-year-old’s chest. She also watched as her mother was executed while lying next to her in the bed before she herself was dragged into a passage and raped.

The attackers got into the house through a bathroom window after murdering her brothers Lungisani and Mlungisi‚ who were asleep in an outside room.

He is expected to appear again on March 10.