A 30-year-old man has been arrested for murder after he allegedly shot his mother when she intervened in a heated argument involving the man, his wife and a friend on Wednesday.

According to a police statement, the man, his wife and a friend were in one room arguing, while his 59-year-old mother was in another room of the house, in Kabokweni, near Nelspruit in Mpumalanga.

"The argument between the three escalated and the man's mother, who was in another room with her other children, heard the commotion and sought to intervene," police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said in a statement.

The man is expected to appear at the Kabokweni Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of murder, possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence, as well as defeating the ends of justice.

Mpumalanga police commissioner Lieutenant-General Mondli Zuma condemned the incident, adding that illegal firearms in circulation remained an issue.