Two street vendors who died in a shooting that claimed the lives of seven people in Finetown, south of Johannesburg, were siblings who sold kotas and chicken feet for a living.
Pinky Kose, 41, and Thabang Motloung, 22, were fatally wounded when armed robbers shot 11 people at their shop not far from their home on Saturday night. Four people died at the scene of the shooting and two died on arrival at a hospital. One injured victim died in hospital on Sunday while four are still in hospital.
According to police, the incident happened after some men tried to rob the vendors, who retaliated by throwing stones at them and damaged their car. The men returned moments later with guns and randomly shot at the vendors’ stalls.
The siblings’ aunt, Maki Maine, 62, told Sowetan that Kose started her business of selling kotas and amagwinya in 2012 after quitting her job as a domestic worker.
“She loved cooking and always wanted to sell her food here at home because the streets are always busy and packed with people moving around. Unfortunately, her job was not allowing her to sell as she was always at work and coming home late. She decided to leave her job and sell from home in Finetown,” said Maine.
“She would wake up early in the morning and make vet-cakes. She loved her business. She even taught her brother how to cook and helped him start his business,” she said.
Motloung started selling chicken feet in 2019 after dropping out of school.
“He realised that academics was not his strong point and he should rather focus on working with his hands in order to earn a living,” said Maine.
She said the siblings’ mother died in 2017 and their father more than 10 years ago.
“After their mother died, I took care of them like my own children. They died in a painful way. We really need assistance here in our community. There is a shooting every weekend. Police need to assist us,” said Maine.
When Sowetan visited the area yesterday, dozens of people gathered outside the home to pay their respects.
Twoboy Gama’s son Delano Blignaut, 23, was one of the bystanders wounded. He was shot in the back and in his hand and is currently recovering in hospital.
Gama was woken up just after 9pm by his neighbours alerting him that there had been a shooting.
“When I came out of the house I found five bodies lying on the ground. My son was twisting and turning with bullets wound on his left hand and back. He tried to speak and said his body was getting hot. I borrowed a car from one of the neighbours to rush him to hospital,” said Gama.
“It is reported that about four suspects tried to rob street vendors selling chicken feet. The vendors allegedly resisted and threw stones at the suspects and their vehicle’s rear window was damaged. The suspects drove off and came back on foot after a while armed with firearms. They then shot at the vendors and bystanders, leaving 11 people shot,” said Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili.
“ The provincial serious and violent crimes, murder and robbery unit is following leads to trace and arrest the perpetrators,” said Muridili.
Ward councillor Amelia Zama said there was no police visibility in Finetown.
“You will never see a police vehicle patrolling in this community. There are shootings every week and people are dying. When will this stop?” Zama asked.
- kokam@sowetan.co.za
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