Durban - A family is in shock at the senseless killing of two brothers, apparently in a dispute over parking.
The distraught family of the brothers, who were killed at Kingsford flats in Margaret Mncadi Avenue (Victoria Embankment) on Sunday, hopes the system of justice will discover the truth.
Ahmed Vawda, 25, an accountant, and Mohamed, 31, who was an estate agent and owned MV Properties, lived at Kingsford.
It is alleged that a 57-year-old man accused of killing them, also a tenant, had been at a shooting range when he arrived in his car. The dispute was over a parking bay on the first floor of the building.
After an argument, Ahmed, who was with his wife, walked away. The man allegedly pulled his 9mm pistol and opened fire on Ahmed.
Tenants who heard the gunshots rushed to the scene, including Ahmed’s brother, Mohamed, who lived on the third floor of the block.
It is alleged that when Mohamed confronted the man, he was also shot.
It is still unclear what transpired between the initial dispute over the parking bay and the shooting.
Responding to news of the shooting, one of the residents said: “Parking is a huge problem here as tenants don’t seem to use parkings allocated to them.
“Over weekends the problem is compounded because of visitors,” he said.
“The security is top-notch in this building. There is absolutely no need to kill people over parking.”
Police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said the suspect handed himself over to the Durban Central police on Sunday.
He would be charged with two counts of murder and would appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court soon.
When The Mercury went to the Vawdas’ parents’ house in Glenwood on Monday, people had flocked to the home to pay their respects to the family.
Family spokesman Ahmed Paruk said a post-mortem revealed that one brother had been struck by three bullets, and the other by one. He would not say which of the brothers was shot three times.
“It is unfortunate that what transpired was over a parking bay. We do not want to say much, the family is heavily traumatised,” he said.
He said that both the deceased men had wives, but no children.
The family were still in shock and were waiting for the trial so they could get answers about the shooting.
The two were buried at Brook Street Cemetery on Monday.
Members of a heavily armed security company were at the cemetery, hired to safeguard the funeral proceedings.
The Mercury