By Everson Luhanga
- A Vosloorus resident says she saw a man stop his red car, get out with a gun and start firing as she and her partner fled barefoot.
- Police say Brown Mogotsi, a businessman linked to the Madlanga Commission, has not yet opened a case after his car was hit by several bullets.
The calm of a Vosloorus evening was shattered when gunfire erupted just before 9 pm on Monday, sending residents diving for cover.
A woman who lives in Extension 25 said she had been at home with her partner when a red car sped down the road and came to a sudden halt outside her house.
“I was at home when a red car drove by at high speed and suddenly came to a halt. The driver got out with a gun in his hand and started shooting. My partner and I ran in different directions to seek refuge. I even left my shoes behind,” she said.
The woman said the gunman kept firing as she ducked behind a wall.
Minutes later, neighbours gathered at the scene and found the red car riddled with bullet holes. Both front windows were shattered, the lights were on, and the key was still in the ignition.
While residents were still trying to make sense of what had happened, a white VW Golf pulled up behind the red car. To their surprise, businessman Brown Mogotsi stepped out.
Mogotsi told the Sowetan he had been followed from Spruitview BP garage by unknown men in a white bakkie and was on his way to Victoria Hotel when the shooting started.
Mogotsi is a politically connected businessman and a key figure in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into criminality and political interference in the justice system.
Community patrollers arrived later but found no sign of the attackers. Residents said police only got to the scene about an hour and a half later.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said officers spoke to Mogotsi, who told them he was too shaken to give a statement and would open a case the next morning. But by 5 pm on Tuesday, he still had not gone to the Vosloorus police station.
Mathe said police are investigating a case of attempted murder after Mogotsi’s car was struck by up to eleven bullets.
The attack comes as Mogotsi’s name continues to make headlines at the commission.
Some in the community fear the shooting could be linked to his political dealings. Others whisper that it might have been staged.
Police say they are probing every angle — including whether the dramatic late-night gunfire was a real assassination attempt or something else entirely.
Pictured above: Brown Mogotsi’s car .
Image source: SAPS
