The family of one of the two men who died during an explosion when there was a violent protest in Tembisa, on the East Rand, say their father had just gone out to buy maas.
Isaac Hlongwane, 69, died during an explosion when protesters tried to bomb an ATM at the Rabasotho customer care centre on Monday.
His daughter Nompumelelo said her father was a pensioner who got caught up in the mess while on his way to the stores.
“He left home around 2pm to go and check if the shops were open. The plan was to buy amasi (maas) for his grandson and bread for the family,” she said.
“He had been home all day. At around 3pm, a child from around the neighbourhood came running and crying saying my father had been bombed by an ATM.”
Nompumelelo said her dad must have been walking along George Nyanga Drive to go to a supermarket when the cylinder exploded.
“He had nothing to do with it. That is something he would never do.
“We were not expecting this, we expected him to come back home with bread in his hand.”
She said the family was distraught at the death and wanted to know where the police were during the acts of violence. “This is a very painful thing to go through. We have lost an innocent person who had nothing to do with any of the burning. It is unfair,” a sobbing Nompumelelo said.
Hlongwane is among four people killed during the violent protests. Another person died in the explosion.
However, Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesperson Lizzy Suping said the information they had said all four men were killed by the police.
Pheta Molonyama, 43, was gunned down by the police during the protest. Pheta was gunned down along Reverend RJT Namane Drive just 30 minutes after he left his house.
His mother Johana Molonyama, 72, said she was called around 6.42am by her neighbour who informed her that her son had been shot.
When she arrived at the scene there was an Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department inyala and she was told the shot had been fired by one of the officers.
She said when she approached the vehicle and asked a white officer if he was the one who killed her son and he responded: “Ja. Ek het hom geskiet (Yes. I shot him).”
Eugene Linda Shabalala was shot in the yard where he lived, which is opposite the centre that was looted before part of it was set alight. His family was unable to get to the scene as roads were closed.
Several cars were torched at the centre.
sibiyan@sowetan.co.za
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