Johannesburg - The community of Riverlea is still in shock after a random shooter sprayed a group of people with bullets at a local spaza shop.
The Star understands that on June 23, some community members were hanging around a spaza shop in the evening while some customers were buying essentials at the shop.
Luka Ntja told The Star his daughter Anastasia Maile died while trying to shield her mother from the bullets.
Anastasia was a well-known youth activist in her community. Before she died, she had been vocal about the problems that some young people were experiencing with the applications for the Nasi iSpani jobs project.
Ntja said he was pained by the death of his daughter, but was grateful that his wife had managed to survive the tragedy.
“My daughter protected my wife. I would have lost both of them because she shielded her with her body. If you look at the wall, you can still see the bullet holes,” Ntja said.
He said that he did not know his daughter as an activist, but he said he had heard about a number of TikTok videos she was in.
“They say it was a random shooting, but I think they were targeting my family. I think they wanted to kill my family,” he said.
The DA caucus leader in Johannesburg, Belinda Echeozonjoku, visited the Maile family in Riverlea. Echeozonjoku said she was concerned about the gun violence in the area and called for the police to get to the bottom of this incident.
“The young lady was looking for a job last week, and now her life is ended just like that. Surely someone has to take responsibility,” she said.
Echeozonjoku said unemployment was a contributing factor in the gun violence and drug problems in most former coloured communities.
“Young people want opportunities to empower themselves and make life better for their families.
“If these young people are neglected and are left hopeless, it is us who will regret it,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Langlaagte police said no one had been arrested in connection with the shootings. Three cases of attempted murder and murder were being investigated.
The Star