Families heartbroken after loved ones are killed by cable thieves

Two women sat quietly in a small four-room house in the bustling township of Sebokeng in the Vaal, south of Johannesburg.

They are both grieving; one lost her husband and the other her brother. 

Itumeleng Mokoena had been married to Moqadi Mokoena for five years when he and his colleague, Elvis Motaung, were mowed down by machine gun-wielding copper cable thieves while on duty on the night of May 14. 

“He had a funny feeling and could not shake it off that day. He said he was feeling uneasy and he had a toothache which made him reluctant to report for duty,” shared Itumeleng. 

She stares at her phone before looking out of the window. 

“He left the house but realised that he forgot his watch. He came back. for it. After leaving, he returned again because he forgot his cigarettes. That should have been a sign that something bad was going to happen.” 

Moqadi, Motaung and Moqadi’s cousin Sifiso Mokoena were guarding the Verref Substation in Vereeniging, south of Johannesburg, when the incident happened. 

Their deployment by Wenzile Phaphama Security came just two days after four of their colleagues were stripped naked, beaten and ordered to dig up copper cables from the same station by heavily armed thieves. 

“Moqadi called me when he was on duty and told me that he was feeling scared because he was looking at a large group of men not too far from the substation. He said he thought they were the same group that attacked their colleagues. I told him to call his supervisor because they were not armed,” she said. 

Moqadi was shot multiple times just moments after calling his wife.

“That was the last time I spoke to him.” 

Moqadi’s dreams were never aligned with being a security guard. His life’s trajectory forced him into the industry. 

Moqadi aspired to be a teacher, if not a soccer player or a karateka. But, growing up in poverty, in a household with six siblings, meant that he would not realise any of his dreams. 

Moqadi wanted to see his one-year-old daughter being afforded the opportunities that he could not access, said his other sister Mathapelo Mokoena.

“When I started my teaching course, he said to me that he wished he could have the opportunity to study teaching and take up a respectable career. He wanted to buy a home for his family.” 

Itumeleng said her brother saw his likely destiny when one of his colleagues was gunned down in his presence while on duty in Pretoria a few years ago. 

“He was shaken. He said what worsened the blow was that nobody was arrested for his murder,” said Itumeleng. 

Vereeniging police spokesperson Cpt Fikile Funda confirmed no arrests had been made in connection with the murders but said investigations were ongoing. 

Motaung’s family said they were still coming to terms with his murder. 

Motaung's brother, Mokheseng Motaung, said he would not forget the sight of his brother’s bullet-riddled body. 

“They shot him with a machine gun. He was shot in the leg, in the hip and one bullet entered his ribs on the right side and another penetrated on the left side – that's the one that killed him,” said Mokheseng.