Everson Luhanga
Two brothers and their cousin were amongst the 15 people shot dead at a tavern in Soweto early on Sunday morning.
Thasanqa Malunga, 24, his brother Nkosi, 25, and their 26-year old cousin Boyboy Malunga, all died from gunshot wounds.
In another family, two brothers, Luyanda, 17, and Sthembiso Mjoli, 34, were also shot dead at the Mdlalose tavern in Nomzamo.
The Malunga family spokesperson, who is also a Metro Police officer Gugulethu Mbhele, said the family is devastated.
“I have never seen so many bodies in one place,” he said.
“There were two dead bodies at the entrance of the tavern and blood everywhere.
“Inside the tavern, I saw 10 people, some with horrific open wounds from the gunshots.”
He was with all three cousins during the day and had bought them groceries. “I dropped them at home later that evening and everyone was happy,” he said.
Later that evening, around 10pm, he received a call asking him to rush to Nomzamo tavern where his cousins had gone to drink.
“I am still shaking from what I saw and the family is still in disbelief,” he said.
Mbuyiselo Mjoli, who lost two nephews, told Scrolla.Africa that he was sleeping when he heard loud gunshots at the nearby tavern. At first, he said he thought it was one of those days where people just shoot randomly.
But then, the calibre of the gunshots and the continuous ringing of gunshots worried him. He heard that it had happened at the nearby Nomzamo tavern, where his two nephews had gone to drink.
“I couldn’t sleep after hearing the gunshots. I went to the boys’ father, where we both tried to call them but they didn’t pick up,” said Mjoli.
He said his worries were confirmed when his brother (the boys’ father) received a phone call from the hospital telling him that his two children had died.
Those who survived the shooting and were in the tavern told him that, when his nephew Luyanda saw that the gunmen had started shooting, he tried to run away. But he was hit by a bullet and fell on the street where he died.
He said Luyanda doesn’t drink and would go to the tavern to play pool.
And he said he was told that the gunmen were placed in both the front and the back exits.
Neziwe Nkosi, 34, fears that her cousin Senzo Nkosi could be one of the victims of a mass shooting.
Speaking to Scrolla.Africa, she said it has never happened that her cousin goes out to drink and doesn’t come back.
“After coming back from work on Saturday evening, he told us that he was going to drink and the Nomzamo tavern is his favourite spot.
“He didn’t come back last night. We didn’t worry until we heard about the mass shooting at the tavern.”
She said at around 5 o’clock in the morning, she rushed to the crime scene but the police wouldn’t allow her near the bodies.
She said she will be visiting hospitals where the victims were rushed to and mortuaries to try and find her cousin.
Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela said the men had high-calibre machine guns, including AK-47s, as well as 9mm pistols.
He condemned the incident and urged the team of detectives, led by Deputy Provincial Commissioner of Crime Detection Major General Mbuso Khumalo, to pull out all stops in ensuring that the perpetrators are arrested and brought to book.
