NOBODY KNOWS why rampaging gunmen stormed into a tavern and sprayed the patrons with bullets.
Nobody knows why Mzinjani Mgoboza had to die.
Nobody knows why Mzinjani, who didn't drink and hated taverns, had to die in the street!
Mzinjani Mgoboza (58), who lived alone and never bothered anybody, was walking home past the tavern as he always did.
But on Saturday night, 16 July he was in the wrong place at the wrong time – and he was hit by a stray bullet.
Eight gunmen opened fire randomly at an illegal tavern in Elias Motsoaledi squatter camp in Soweto, leaving one dead, six wounded and one in a critical state.
Elias Motsoaledi and Thembilihle squatter camps near Lenasia are the latest hits in a string of shootings in Joburg.
Neighbours described Mzinjani as a sweet soul who wouldn’t harm anybody.
They told Daily Sun Mzinjani not only didn’t drink alcohol, but hated taverns.
Neighbour Noluthando Dlamini (47) said Mzinjani left for work in the morning.
That was the last time they saw him alive. “At about 9pm we heard gunshots. Community members came rushing to my house and said Mzinjani was wounded.
“We found his body lying near the tavern. He had been shot in his head.”
Another neighbour said: “He was a very peaceful man, and very helpful. He never touched alcohol. We are deeply saddened.”
A 35-year-old who survived death with a bullet in his leg, said he ran for his life. “I was chilling and enjoying my beer when suddenly, we heard gunshots and people started screaming and running for cover.”
“I don’t know how I managed to get outside. I ran without looking back but I fell. I realised I had been shot.”
He immediately thought of his child who is still young. “Who will look after my little one if I die? I’m grateful to be alive.”
Makhura visited the area with senior police members on Sunday, 17 July.
Residents told Makhura they feared for their lives. One resident said before the shooting, he saw a suspicious mortuary vehicle parked not far from the tavern.
Makhura urged the community to give police leads and assured them arrests will be made before the end of the week.
He instructed the police to shut down the tavern. “The station commander told us every time the police visit the tavern, the owner disappears. When the police leave the area, he comes back and reopens the tavern.”
On Friday, Police Minister Bheki Cele announced the deployment of additional 200 police officers in Gauteng.
Makhura acknowledged the number was not enough due to Gauteng’s growing population, but said the province was waiting for more from 10 000 graduating. More than 100 CPF members will be patrolling the area. He said: “People thought the mass shooting were co-ordinated. What is emerging as a pattern is that it is localised.”
Makhura said in the recent shootings, suspects bust were mostly South Africans.
Police are investigating.
