‘How I nearly lost all of my family in a shooting’

A 29-year-old man who lost his uncle, two nephews and younger brother in the Saulsville massacre in Tshwane, where 11 people were killed, has told of how he was awoken by gunfire that lasted for about 20 minutes as he laid in the room next door.

The man, who did not want to be named for safety reasons, told Sowetan on Sunday that he had just come back from using the bathroom at around 4am on Saturday morning and that was lying in his bed when he heard the gunfire.

“I was terrified. I stayed in bed and didn’t move ... what gave me a bit of comfort is that the rooms are divided by bricks,” he said with tears rolling down his face.

The shooting is the latest after five people were killed and six injured at a tavern in Bronkhorstpruit, about 60km from Pretoria, in October.

According to police, unknown gunmen entered the room, situated in a hostel, where people were drinking and started to shoot randomly. The motive is still unknown.

The shooting claimed four of his relatives – younger brother Sibongakonke, 14; nephews Elihle, 14, and Sanelisiwe Dhlomo, 3; and uncle Khalisakhe Goqo. His two sisters, Nomvelo and Enhle, are still recovering at Kalafong Hospital, while his third sister, Amahle Zulu, was discharged from hospital on Sunday.

Sowetan witnessed Zulu breaking down as she arrived home, leaping from a wound to her leg. She was too traumatised to go into the room where the shooting happened and had to be taken to another room.

The man said he sat still in fear in his bed for about 20 minutes as his family was being wiped out in the next room.

“After the shooting, I opened the door, and I found my uncle [Goqo] on the ground. He was shot in the head and chest, and he was dead.

“I proceeded to Nomvelo’s room, and I found about nine bodies on the ground. I called for help, and under the bed I found my two-year-old nephew, and he was alive. It seems that he was hidden there by someone,” recalled the man.

Nomvelo, the owner of the room, had been shot in the chest but was still alive. He said the victims and survivors were his relatives who had gone to the room for a drink.

Police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe confirmed that 25 people were shot at in the early hours of Saturday.

“We are told that three unknown gunmen entered the hostel where people were drinking, and they started shooting at them, and 14 survived and are all in the hospital. One of them later died in the hospital.”

On Sunday, Mathe told Sowetan that national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola was expected to visit the area and the local police station on Monday.

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi described the murders as heartbreaking and unacceptable acts of criminality that have no place in the province.

“We are distressed by the loss of innocent lives, including young children, in this senseless act of violence. Our hearts go out to the families who are grieving today. As the Gauteng provincial government, we will not allow our communities to live in fear,” said Lesufi.

Other tavern shooting incidents that shook the country this year:

• In July, five people were shot and killed at a tavern in Shoba informal settlement in Bronkhorstspruit when a group of about 10 men entered the tavern and opened fire.
• On May 6, gunmen stormed a tavern in the Durban area and opened fire on patrons. Eight people were killed in what police described as a coordinated attack.
• On January 11, eight people were shot dead in a tavern, while three others sustained injuries, in Pienaar township in Mpumalanga.

Sowetan