Durban – The 31-year-old Glebelands Hostel resident Akhona Njokana who was shot dead allegedly by her ex-boyfriend on Saturday was described as a “lovely woman” who was well-known at the hostel.
She had been a resident at the hostel for many years.
A resident who did not want to be named, out of fear for his own life, said he had known Njokana for the past seven years. He said a lot of people at the hostel had known her, that she was always happy and that her bubbly personality had made her popular at the hostel.
“She was a very nice human being. She loved people and always greeted with a smile. She was one of the well-known people at the hostel because she had lived there for a long time,” said the resident.
He also said she did not have a full-time job and he frequently saw her at the hostel during the day. She was reportedly seen with her boyfriend near Block 50, when her ex-boyfriend tried to force himself on her.
A quarrel between the two men ended with Njokana dead.
She was allegedly shot by the ex-boyfriend as she intercepted to save her current boyfriend.
Njokana, originally of the Eastern Cape, had moved to the hostel more than seven years ago when she came to the area to find work.
“She was a young girl from the rural area. She must have been about 23 when she moved to stay with her older sister. Unfortunately her sister passed away after a long illness, but she continued living here at the hostel,” he said.
Njokana was the fifth woman to be killed at the hostel, bringing the number of people killed there to 72.
The ex-boyfriend – said to be a security guard hired by the company contracted to provide security services at the hostel – allegedly fled on Saturday night after the incident.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said a 29-year-old man handed himself over to the uMlazi police station on Sunday and was charged with Njokana’s murder.
The residents called on the government to ensure the guards working at Glebelands Hostel were not residents.