Ramatsoele Street in Bochabela erupted into a scene of chaotic gunfire on Wednesday morning when prominent 52-year-old twin brothers and businessmen, Keabecoe and Kegomodicoe Lekone, were assassinated in a brazen, highly calculated hit right outside their business premises.

The well-known local entrepreneurs, who were widely recognised across Mangaung as the owners and operators of the popular Ekhayeni Lounge Bar, were ambushed inside their charcoal-coloured Ford Ranger at the main entrance gate of their commercial property.

Witnesses at the scene described a swift and terrifying sequence of events as an unidentified motor vehicle pulled up directly in front of the gate, boxing in the brothers’ bakkie and effectively blocking any potential chance of escape.

Two male assassins allegedly stepped out of the vehicle and unleashed a rapid, relentless hail of bullets through the Ford Ranger’s side windows before quickly jumping back into their waiting getaway car to make their escape.

Kegomodicoe, who was seated behind the steering wheel, and his twin brother Keabecoe, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, sustained multiple gunshot wounds to their bodies and were declared deceased at the scene by arriving emergency medical service personnel.

Law enforcement spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Thabo Covane, confirmed that officers at the Mangaung Police Station received a frantic distress call at approximately 08:51 reporting active gunfire at the commercial premises.

An eyewitness inside the double-storey building rushed outside after hearing the deafening sound of multiple gunshots, observing a male suspect running frantically toward a white Chevrolet Aveo hatchback before the vehicle sped off into the surrounding township streets.

Immediately after the shooting, the killers turned the corner from Ramatsoele Street into Duma Street and meandered through the inner residential roads of the township before eventually crossing over into neighbouring Heidedal via Dr Belcher Road.

This crucial escape route directly corroborates Wednesday’s breaking news report by Journal News Network (JNN), which first tracked the fleeing suspects’ movements towards the prominent arterial road that divides the Bochabela and Heidedal townships.

Exclusive details provided by an anonymous insider source now suggest a far more sinister and calculated motive behind the daylight execution, pointing directly toward a protracted and bitter dispute over a lucrative security tender with the Free State Department of Health.

According to the source, the twin brothers had apparently previously been subcontracted under a primary service provider that held the health department’s main security contract, earning approximately R80 000 per month for a period of roughly six months.

This subcontracting arrangement was allegedly necessary at the time because the Lekone brothers lacked the mandatory Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) accreditation required for full compliance in the security sector.

However, after subsequently securing their official PSIRA compliance certificates, the twins submitted an independent bid for the contract and successfully secured the main security tender for themselves once the initial agreement with the previous service provider lapsed.

Tensions reportedly boiled over when the former primary contractor expected the twins to reciprocate the previous arrangement by subcontracting them back and paying a similar R80 000 monthly fee, giving rise to an aggressive and unresolved commercial conflict.

The source further claims that the Lekone brothers were fully aware that a contract had been placed on their lives prior to Wednesday’s fatal shooting.

A Johannesburg-based hitman who was initially approached to carry out the assassination reportedly turned down the job, forcing the alleged mastermind to seek alternative contract killers who ultimately carried out the deadly ambush in Bochabela.

In a dramatic development, unverified claims suggest that five suspects have allegedly been apprehended by law enforcement officers in Heidedal, where they were reportedly lying low and waiting for the ‘dust to settle’ before attempting to leave the region.

It is said that at the time of their arrest, the suspects were allegedly travelling inside a Toyota Quantum minibus - which was going to be used as their primary getaway transport to skip town.

The South African Police Service have denied that anyone has been arrested in this regard with Free State police spokesperson, Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, categorically dismissing the information as mere rumours.

“I am also aware of those rumours, but there is no truth to them,” she told JNN.

The police have not officially confirmed these unverified claims or the reported arrests in Heidedal, emphasising that intensive, multi-unit investigations remain actively underway across the metro.

Meanwhile, the Lekone family has expressed its gratitude to all those who have shared their sympathies and comforted them as they mourn their beloved.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone who has reached out with love and prayers. Your kindness and compassion carry us through this incredibly difficult time and process,” the family statement reads.

Ekhayeni management also conveyed their sympathies to the family, while honouring the late twins for the legacy they have left behind.

“We are deeply saddened by the passing of the original owners of Ekhayeni. As the current management of Ekhayeni, we would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to their family, friends and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” the management said.