Durban — Community members believe that the suspects behind the murder of five people in uMlazi used Diwali as a cover-up to execute their shooting spree on Sunday night at Uganda informal settlement.
A neighbour of one of the victims who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons told the Daily News that there had been fireworks and they could not tell the difference between them and gunshots.
“These fireworks sound like bombs and I could not even hear when there was a shooting,” she said.
One of the victims is Ntobeko Mantenga, 30, from Empangeni. It is alleged that people knocked on his shack, asked his name and borrowed a light. When he opened the door, they opened fire and shot him dead. He was described as someone who did piece jobs and who was also a taxi driver, driving taxis to Malukazi and Isipingo.
Cebolethu Zwane, 29, from Nongoma was shot while sleeping with his girlfriend (name unknown). Neighbours said Zwane drove taxis to Mayville and Chesterville.
The uncle of Nonhlenelo Golimbiza, 38, from Lusikisiki, Tsepo Mchunu alleged that after 9pm unknown perpetrators entered their niece’s tuckshop where she was with her sister Nandipha Golimbiza, 30.
“They made them lay down on the floor inside the tuckshop, when a customer Nkosinathi Maranjana came to buy something. They forced him to lay down alongside my nieces after that they were shot dead,” said Mchunu.
A television and money was taken, he added.
Mchunu said what is confusing is that the perpetrators proceeded to other shacks in the area and killed two other people, but they did not take anything from them. He said this did not look like a robbery. He said in 2021 the boyfriend of his niece was shot together with other people in the tuckshop and the motive was still unknown.
Nonhlenelo was also renting out five rooms in this area. Moreover, in 2021 Minister of Police Bheki Cele visited the township after 11 people were killed in one weekend. Cele had said one of the reasons the police seemed ineffective in fighting crime in this township was a shortage of resources, including police officers and vehicles, which were at garages being repaired.
Another family member Philani Godlwana described the two sisters as law-abiding citizens who were kind and helpful to community members.
“I cannot think of anything that might have led to this.
“I thought it was a robbery but what confuses me is why the others were killed because they were not selling anything,” he said.
It looks like the killers had a list and were with someone who was showing them who lives where, he said.
The family and community members said all these people were not troublemakers and described them as quiet people who tried to make ends meet.
Chairperson of the Community Policing Forum in uMlazi, Mandlenkosi Ngcobo, sent condolences to the family and friends of the victims.
Ngcobo said the people who are making ends meet are being robbed but that has died down.
“This means that the perpetrators have started again which makes it hard for us to know where the source of the problem is.”
Ngcobo urged the community to work together with the police again.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said they were on a manhunt for the suspects.
“The motive behind the shootings has not yet been established. Anyone with information is urged to contact the uMlazi police station or anonymously via crime stop number 08600 10111 or through the MYSAPS app,” he said.
He said another 32-year-old man survived the attack and is recovering in hospital. Political and human rights activist Mary de Haas said there must be a proper forensic investigation into easy access to guns and where they come from. She said there was a long history of gangsterism in uMlazi and many other Durban areas.
Crime analyst and senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Johan Burger, said violent crimes such as murder and aggravated robbery had been on the rise for more than a decade.
“Murder increased by 53% and aggravated robbery by 45%. House robberies, as a sub-category of aggravated robbery, increased by 34.4%. This shows that we are moving in the wrong direction and that the police appear to be losing the battle against crime,” said Dr Burger.
MEC for Transport, Community Safety, and Liaison Sipho Hlomuka said the government was concerned about the increasing number of firearms and ammunition in society.
“Our department, law enforcement agencies, and community crime fighting structures are rolling out programmes targeting the proliferation of illegal firearms and ammunition. We are also working on strategies to strengthen collaborative crime prevention interventions in all districts. Indeed, we are working towards the realisation of a safer and secure province,” said Hlomuka.
Meanwhile, the police said they were searching for at least five suspects in connection with the murder of two men whose bodies were found dead in KwaMashu hostel.
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Daily News