Johannesburg - The Sishuba family are reeling in pain and shock but said they trust that perpetrators who shot and killed two of their family members as well as six others would be brought to book.
The family said they wanted justice and expressed gratitude to Police Minister Bheki Cele as well as SAPS management for visiting and assuring them that they were going to arrest the lawless gunmen who killed their loved ones.
A total of eight people were shot and killed, and three sustained injuries and were rushed to the hospital, where one was discharged on Monday afternoon.
According to police, the owner of the house, Vusumzi Sishuba 51, was celebrating his birthday on Sunday when two gunmen entered the yard on Makanda Street in KwaZakhele Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, and began shooting at the guests.
Sishuba’s brother, Andile Sishuba, 52, who had travelled from East London, was not spared, and neither were Kholekile France, 54 (male), Mbuyiseli Mboya, 64 (male), Nomatamsanqa Mandla, 58 (female), Liyema Poro, 20 (female), and Nandipha Koliti, 42 (female).
Colonel Priscilla Naidu, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape provincial SAPS, told The Star that the identities of the eight men killed had yet to be confirmed.
The Sishuba family spokesperson, Christina, sent her condolences to the families of those who perished and wished speedy recovery to those who survived.
She said the family did not want to know what happened, citing that it would be safer that way.
“I have lost two brothers; they were here (in this home) celebrating Vusumzi’s 51st birthday in the form of braai. Andile had just arrived from East London because he works in that city; he had just popped in to be part of a final celebration that started on Friday,” she said.
Christina said as a family, they felt that justice would be served.
“As a family, we feel that this has already gained traction. The place yesterday was turned into a police site, and it was buzzing with community, friends, family and the entire society pleading that justice could be done. Police were there in huge numbers. They tried to take every detail of what could support their investigation, even this morning (Monday), when they were here the entire afternoon with the minister, and they gave us assurance as family that justice will be done and they will try to speed up this process to ensure that those who have done the act will be brought to justice sooner,” she said.
During his visit to the scene, Cele said the SAPS would make arrests and bring justice to the family.
He cautioned political parties not to interfere, saying it was a criminal matter.
“We are committing from the side of the police that we are not going to betray that trust. We are not going to betray that posture that has been shown by the leadership here, which is quite a big chunk of leadership… The mayor is here, the speaker is here, councillors are here and other political parties.
“We say don’t push us to look at politics on this matter. We are not looking at politics or political faces; we are looking at criminal faces. We don’t care who you are. We don’t care who you are, so don’t push us that way,” Cele said.
Naidu said police had launched a manhunt for the suspects while an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack was under way.
“Arrests have been made at this stage. The identities of the dead and injured are still to be established,” said Naidu.
She said the Provincial Organised Crime Investigation was investigating a case involving eight counts of murder and three of attempted murder.
Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene, has ordered the team of investigators to track and trace the perpetrators in the quickest time possible.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metro said it planned to implement drone surveillance to fight crime.
NMB Community Safety MMC, Lawrence Troon, speaking in an interview with one of the broadcasters, said the metro would like to use drones.
“With drones, it’s like eyes in the sky. Many times when it comes to this type of murder, we have people who are afraid of coming forward to be witnesses because their lives are endangered, but once we come up with drones, we would be able to follow those culprits until they are arrested. The footage of those drones would also help us when we go to court,” said Troon.
He also described the metro as a war zone.
“The fact that about 29 cartilages were found on the scene showed that the guys (shooters) went out there with one thing (in mind), and that was to kill.
“I’ve spoken to the police; they are busy with investigations, and they do not want to speculate as to what the reasons are for what happened.
“But I must say that this follows the shooting and killing of about eight guys from the northern areas just about two weeks ago. So it is clear that Nelson Mandela Bay has become like a war zone, and we are on our own. I don’t think that we will be able to remedy the situation,” Troon said.
Ward councillor Gamalihleli Maqula said the community was in shock.
“People here are living in fear; they are scared for their lives because we don’t know the motive of these killings. At least there must be a random raid where people would be randomly searched time and again because these firearms are not from Nelson Mandela Bay.
“People are coming from outside the city to do this work, and then they leave.
“We even called for a curfew here in NMB so that we could have these guns searched around that time. Those are the things that we have called from the police, and we are still calling for them,” said Maqula.