Hammanskraal casualties: I saw him hacked, says sister

30 May 2016 - 08:27 By SIPHO MASOMBUKA

When Thandi Tshabalala saw the horrific picture of a smouldering corpse in Hammanskraal, outside Pretoria, it never occurred to her that it was her brother. It was only when government mortuary officials called her that the reality hit home.Elias Tshabalala - his family's sole breadwinner - was one of hundreds of unemployed Soshanguve residents offered R150 for three hours of work by Marjorie S Trading. The job: Evicting residents from the nearby and highly volatile Hammanskraal informal settlements of Suurman, Kanana and Sekampaneng.He and 31-year-old Lucky Nelushi were killed when residents turned on them, hacking them to death.Six others were injured.Tshabalala's brother Sam said Elias was the "king of hustling and odd jobs".He said he supported nine people, including his three children, by driving taxis, welding and cleaning backyards."He was [through his odd jobs] putting his 21-year-old daughter through nursing school." Tshabalala's other brother Joseph said the family was "devastated" by his gruesome death."We want answers why our brother was sent to his death for R150. Why were they in municipal buses when the municipality was not involved? Questions need to be answered," he said.Marjorie S Trading was evicting informal residents living on land belonging to the City of Tshwane and on its behalf.Thabo Masilu, a survivor of the attack, said when they arrived in Hammanskraal, residents turned on them."Tshabalala died in front of my eyes. I was running and saw him fall. As I turned I saw him hacked."It was horrible. I was just happy to be alive," he said.Ephraim Lamola and wife Lindiwe, directors of Marjorie S Trading, failed to respond to requests for comment...

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