JUST when the Buthelezis had finished their grieving period for their gogo, another tragedy hit.
The family from Nquthu, northern KZN, was having a final cleansing ceremony on Tuesday, 19 April, when three armed men entered the homestead and shot four family members.
The men apparently demanded to see the eldest son and when they were told he was not around, they opened fire.
They killed his uncle Mzibeni (59), Mzibeni’s wife Ntombeziningi (59), his sister Diniwe (63) and his grandson Manqoba (4). Two neighbours, Siyabonga (29) and Sinenhlahla Khoza (22), were also killed.
A family member said he was on his way to a neighbour’s house to fetch something when the attack happened. He said the family member they were looking for lived in Gauteng and had not been home for a long time.
“We have not seen him for months. I don’t know where he works,” he said.
“We have not talked to him for months because he used to ghost us and come back when he felt like it. We also don’t bother to check on him.”
The family member said no one knew why the gunmen did what they did. He said he suspected the family member in Gauteng did something wrong as the family was wiped out.
“We don’t know where we will get the money to bury them,” he said.
KZN police spokeswoman Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said the gunmen had pistols and a rifle. “The suspects fled in a getaway car. The police are investigating charges of murder and attempted murder,” she said.