Johannesburg - The family of four people who were gunned down in Lawley, south-west of Joburg, are now living in fear.
And they have no idea how they're going to afford to give their loved ones the send-off they deserve.
Hlengiwe Mkhize, 40, her daughter Samkelisiwe Mkhize-Dlamini, 19, son Siyabonga Mkhize-Dlamini, 21, and his partner Gwen Boitumelo Mncube,19, were mowed down by a gang of five in their home on Saturday.
Mkhize's husband, Bongani Dlamini, 47, was shot in the arm and survived the attack.
On Tuesday, Siyabonga's shack in the backyard of the property where the shooting occurred went up in flames.
Everything was razed to the ground and the family have no idea what caused the blaze.
Gwen's mother, Ntombi, said the family were scared to continue living on the property and feared for their lives.
Hlengiwe's sister, Nonhlanhla, spoke to The Star at the Diepkloof government mortuary in Soweto on Wednesday.
"The undertaker needs R22 000 to take the bodies from here to KwaZulu-Natal, but we don't have the money," she said. "We need your help."
This cost included the coffins and transporting the bodies, but not the other expenses that would be associated with the funeral.
They wanted the bodies to be laid to rest alongside other dead family members in their hometown, Estcourt.
"We're from KwaZulu-Natal - all the family is buried there. We can't bury the family here in Joburg."
Siyabonga, who had had a meat-selling business, had been the breadwinner. He'd already had two previous attempts on his life.
"The children don't have money for food and there's no one to look after them (financially)," Nonhlanhla said.
She said Dlamini was planning to move the children to Estcourt, where their grandmother could care for them and send them to school.
"Bongani can't look after them. Hlengiwe's mom will look after six of them. The children are very traumatised (so) we're asking if they can get counselling."
Dlamini's youngest child, aged 3, and two of his infant grandchildren were in the house during the attack, but were left unscathed.
The four bodies were transported from the mortuary on Wednesday afternoon to Vusana Funeral Services in Midway, Soweto, where they will be kept until payment is made.
The family are hopeful that the perpetrators of the attack will be found.
"The Hawks came to see us. (They said) maybe today (Thursday) they would arrest the criminals, because they've got some leads," said Nonhlanhla.
However, Hawks spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said there were no new developments.
@Gabi_Falanga
The Star