LAST YEAR Gugu escaped a boyfriend with murder on his mind – but this time she didn’t escape the firebomb in her shack.
When firefighters broke down the door they found the young woman with her boyfriend and her two children. They were all dead.
GUGU WAS HOLDING HER CHILDREN IN A FINAL EMBRACE.
Neighbours think the man who fired shots at Gugu Mhlanga (24) on New Year’s Eve a year ago was the same man who threw a petrol bomb into her shack in Orlando, Soweto on Monday night.
Along with Gugu, her boyfriend Themba Mokabo (24) and her two young children, Azokuhle, a girl aged three and Lindokuhle, a girl of one, also died.
Gugu’s aunt Onica Sikhakhane (50) said she was sleeping in her house when a neighbour came to her gate, screaming that Gugu had been burnt to death. “I rushed to her shack. I saw that the four people had been burnt to death. Gugu was holding her dead children in her arms,” said the shocked aunt. “I have no idea why this person killed my niece. She was a quiet person who stayed at home and watched television. She loved her children. She did not deserve to die like this.”
She said residents told officials at the scene that they tried to chase the suspect but gave up when he pulled a gun. Residents suspect it was the same person who shot at Gugu last year.
Neighbour Karabo Moloi (26) said she was at the scene trying to put out the fire. “I saw Gugu’s boyfriend trying to open the door with Gugu next to him, holding her children, but then the banging on the door stopped and there was silence in the shack. We stood helplessly as the shack turned to rubble.”
Karabo said she grew up with Gugu. “She was a happy person. She used to spoil her kids with gifts,” said Karabo.
Another neighbour, Jackie Menyatso (38) said: “Gugu has been living in fear since last year. Whoever killed the family deserves to rot in jail.”
Police said they are investigating cases of murder.
