Durban - A 70-year-old mother has had to clean her son’s blood off the floor at Glebelands, after yet another shooting at the notorious uMlazi hostel.
Doris Hlophe travelled more than 150km from KwaDlangezwa near Empangeni on Sunday after receiving a distress call from her son, Sanele Hlophe, 26, the night before.
Sanele had not told his mother that his brother, Bongani, 29, had been gunned down in his room at the hostel.
His roommate, Bandile Ngcobo, had also been killed in the gunfire at about 10pm on Saturday.
Colonel Jay Naicker confirmed the murders saying the men were found with multiple bullet wounds.
Speaking to the Daily Newson Sunday, Doris said she worried each time she heard a news report about yet another killing at the hostel but never thought her son would be part of the death toll.
She had travelled with family, including her daughter, Nqobile, who said Sanele had been crying when he phoned them.
“It was too late for us to do anything, we had to wait for the morning, but did not catch a wink of sleep,” Nqobile said.
Sanele and Bongani had been living at the hostel for about eight years, but lived separately, said Nqobile.
They had moved to the hostel to take up work as security guards.
“Their father passed away and I raised my two boys and two girls alone, I did not know that I was raising Bonga (Bongani) for the grave,” said the mother.
The women arrived at the hostel after Bongani and Ngcobo’s bodies had been taken away, but their blood was still on the floor.
“As soon as we opened the door and saw the amount of blood on the floor we knew Bonga couldn’t have survived,” Nqobile said. Mother, daughter and son fell into each others’ arms, weeping.
Regaining their composure, they got down on their hands and knees and cleaned up their loved one’s blood.
While they were gathering Bongani’s belongings, a relative who lives at the hostel, was arrested by the police special task team.
Police could not confirm the reason for the arrest, but MEC for Community Safety and Liaison, Willies Mchunu, said police had arrested a male on Sunday morning, suspected of being involved in the murder of William Mthembu, a hostel dweller who was shot dead with his friend in an ambush at a Shoprite outlet in Montclair last month.
“He is also suspected to be linked to another murder case at the hostel. The man is due to appear in the uMlazi Magistrate’s court on Tuesday. Another suspect was arrested for a similar case a week ago,” Mchunu said.
He said the government was applying a “multi-pronged strategy to address the abhorrent situation. This includes deploying various units within the law enforcement agencies, facilitating dialogue and improving safety and security measures at the hostel”, Mchunu said.
He urged the Glebelands community to “denounce violence and unite to isolate criminals and perpetrators of violence. The fact that KwaZulu-Natal remains a murder capital, is a clear evidence that we have many criminals among our communities and many illegal weapons”, he said.
Meanwhile, a heartsore Doris will have to come to terms with losing her son, while worrying about how she will finance his funeral.
Daily News