Durban - The grieving family of one of the five men shot in uMlazi at the weekend wants answers about why he was gunned down.
And a woman related to one of the five has told how she felt helpless and terrified when she heard gunshots outside their informal settlement home in uMlazi’s P section on Saturday night.
Four men were killed and another is in critical condition after unknown men opened fire on the group as they enjoyed beers and dined.
The four dead men are Velani Gcuma, Mzamo Mbotho, Senzile Memela and Siyabonga Ncane.
The man in hospital has not been named.
Gcuma’s relatives, who asked not to be named because they feared the gunmen, said they had no idea why Gcuma - who worked for a tyre company in Durban - was killed.
The relatives also denied claims in media reports that the group had been killed in a whoonga turf war and said the men were employed and did not even smoke cigarettes.
The woman had been watching television with her 3-year-old daughter when the shooting started at about 7pm. Fearing for her life, she rushed to close the curtains.
“What could I have done, I was just with my child and when I heard the shots. I just stood up and closed the curtains and held my child. I did not see any of them, I did not even try to look outside.”
The woman said that between the gunshots, there was silence and she did not hear a single scream from the victims. It was only when one of the wounded men came calling for help that she went outside.
“We are so scared because we honestly do not know why he was killed,” she said, denying claims about whoonga turf wars.
“I am disgusted by what I have been reading in newspapers and hearing on radio, with people saying my (relative) was using and selling whoonga. That is not true. We do not deny they used to play loud music and drink alcohol at weekends, but not one was a drug user,” she said.
Another woman related to Gcuma said his mother was taking his death badly. She said he was a quiet soul who never quarrelled with anyone.
“He was a very quiet person and all his friends were good people. On weekends they would usually drink alcohol and have their fun - but even in his drunk state, he did he fight with anyone,” she said.
Gcuma has a 3-year-old daughter in the Harding area, where the other men hailed from. The men lived in uMlazi to be closer to work.
SAPS spokesman, Colonel Jay Naicker, said police were investigating cases of murder and attempted murder.
Daily News