By Buziwe Nocuze
Former ANC youth league activist, Loyiso Nkohla, was shot and killed inside the Philippi satellite police station near the railway station around 10:30 on Monday morning.
Nkohla, the leader of the Ses’khona People’s Movement, was attending a meeting with squatters staying on the railway line. Prasa intends to restore train services in the area and Nkohla was involved in negotiations about moving the squatters away from the line.
The meeting had barely begun when three men appeared. According to witnesses, two stayed outside the police station while the third went inside. Nkohla encountered the intruder outside the room where the meeting was being held and the man opened fire, said witnesses.
Nkohla was killed and three people were wounded in a hail of bullets.
Later on Monday, shack dwellers watched in sadness as forensics processed the scene where Nkohla had been killed.
Many were stunned that someone who had fought for informal settlement residents was no more. Lizalise Mtongana, one of the residents, said, “Who is going to fight for squatter camps now? Why did they have to kill someone that was fighting for poor and disadvantaged people?”
Nkohla had been one of the people working to remove residents staying on the central line. Ward councillor Lindikhaya Payi, who had been working with Nkohla, expressed concerns that progress would be stopped with his passing.
Namhla Ngundze, a resident from the Covid squatter camp, expressed her gratitude for Nkohla’s support, saying, “Nkohla fought for us. We had a lot of incidents where law enforcement officials would come and start demolishing our shacks, but ever since he got involved we saw fewer of those incidents, and we stay in our area peacefully.”
Nkohla was well known for an incident 10 years ago when he and other activists took portable toilets from an informal settlement to Cape Town international airport and other sites. He was referred to as a “poo thrower” following the incident.
The news of Nkohla’s death has sent shockwaves throughout the community, with many people expressing their condolences on social media. One person wrote: “It’s a sad day for the people of Cape Town, we have lost a great leader who was fighting for the rights of the poor and marginalised.”
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson, Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, said the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation.
“Unknown suspects fled the scene and are yet to be arrested, and the motive for the attack is yet to be determined.”
Pictured above: Loyiso Nkohla’s untimely death is a significant loss for the informal settlement residents and those who advocate for them
Image source: Buziwe Nocuze
