THE owner of Nicky’s Tavern in Mabopane, Tshwane has spoken up about the death of the three men who were gunned down at his establishment on Tuesday, 19 March.
Ndondo Ngoma, Themba Lawrence Makhubela and Dede Mokale were killed at the scene, while Kagiso Ramou was rushed to hospital.
Nicky said he was with the men just before they were shot.
“I left the place and went home. In a few seconds, I got call saying people were shot at my tavern,” he said.
He said he couldn't believe his eyes when he got there. “I discovered that it was people I was sitting with. The rest is history,” he said.
He said he was touched by the killings.
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“These were people I was close to, and they were my friends, whom I was always with daily. What can I say that maybe it was God’s will or thieves' will? You will never know,” he said.
Nicky said the families of the dead did rituals at the tavern and it is currently closed. “I need to do my ritual because I can’t just open without doing anything,” he said.
He said this was the first shooting at the tavern. “I’ve only been open for eight months,” he said.
He said that he has been getting death threats from unknown people.
“They are saying that I must give them ransom. I got a call on Friday, 22 March and they said I must give them R20 000 or else they will kill me,” he said.
But Nicky said he is not going to pay a cent. "They are trying to make money from what happened. I told them that if they are killers then they must proceed and kill me and if they wanted me like they said then let them proceed,” he said.
According to Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while one victim was rushed to the nearest medical care facility in a critical condition.
