Durban: Roberta Sing was four months pregnant with her third child and looking forward to finding out if she was having a boy or girl.
But on Sunday afternoon, she was shot at the back of the head in an alleged drive-by shooting at the Georgehill informal settlement in Sydenham.
“Right now, I am completely blank. What do I do? Who do I blame? Who do I look for?" her father, Robert Sing, asked this week.
He said his daughter, 24, lived in Bonella with her mother, Laverne Sing, and her two children – a girl aged five and a boy aged 2.
"On that day, Roberta asked her mother to take care of her children while she visited a friend at the settlement. She travelled there by taxi. I do not know all the details about the shooting but she and two others were shot near a tuckshop at the settlement.
"One man, who is allegedly from Cape Town, was shot. A second man was also shot but he managed to get the other victim and my daughter into his car and drove to the King Edward VIII Hospital. The man from Cape Town died of his injuries on arrival, while Roberta died about 30 minutes later," said Sing, of Newlands East
"My cousin, who lives near the settlement, called me at around 2pm. He found out that Roberta was shot and was taken to the hospital. I rushed to the hospital only to be told that I lost both my daughter and my grandchild. I was shattered. I was later told that some men from a rival gang went to the settlement and opened fire on other men who were allegedly dealing in drugs. My daughter was caught in the crossfire."
Sing said Roberta had a few friends living in the settlement and that she often visited them.
"There has been ongoing drug-related violence in that area. But we did not expect to lose our innocent daughter this way. The area needs police and army visibility."
He said he had not visited the area where his daughter was shot.
Sing said he had looked forward to welcoming his third grandchild in May next year. He last spoke to Roberta about a month ago.
"Roberta loved being a mother. She was an amazing mom and she could not wait to find out her baby's gender. My daughter was the life of every family function. She loved doing TikTok videos and dancing. She brought a smile to everyone that she interacted with."
He said the two children would be taken care of by their grandmother.
Roberta's sister, Kelly Sing, said: “She was always a bubbly and happy person, who never felt the need to sulk or sit in a corner. Even when she got in trouble, she went to her friends and laughed about the situation. Everyone that she met loved her."
Remona Mckenzie, the ward 31 councillor in Sydenham, said: "This is a sensitive matter. Families and the community are mourning and are in pain. The level of crime and criminality in the area is indeed extremely worrying.
"As a ward councillor, I am working with the local stakeholders to address the drugs and gang-related problems. I have also reported the issue to my local DA member of parliament to have the matter escalated to higher levels.
"The DA caucus in eThekwini has for years been pushing for metro police to have a properly capacitated unit, which specialises in fighting drugs and gang-related crimes. We will continue to push for that to happen. Families living in fear are being threatened and victimised in their neighbourhoods and this is not right and cannot continue."
Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad, of metro police, said there have been several reports regarding gang and drug-related violence, but not only in the Sydenham area.
“There have been several gang-related incidents in many areas in KwaZulu-Natal. These members also display this behaviour while in court awaiting trial. Shots are fired during court proceedings.
"The joint effort by law enforcement, metro police and SAPS will curb such incidents. Metro police have conducted several raids in the Sydenham area. We have recovered illegal firearms, drugs and also established that there are many youngsters involved. We are encouraging residents not to harbour these gangs. The community must expose and report them."
Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a provincial police spokesperson, said that at about 12.50pm, the Sydenham police received a report about a shooting at the George Hill informal settlement.
“The police proceeded to the scene in Sydenham. On arrival, they were informed that two men and a woman, aged between 22 and 32, were shot by four unknown people. They were taken to the hospital for medical attention. Two of the victims (a man and a woman) succumbed to their injuries on arrival. Charges of murder and attempted murder were opened for investigation."
Roberta's funeral will be held on Friday at a church in Randles Road.
She is survived by her parents, two siblings and two children.
The Post