When Kgomotso Vincent Diale woke up on Easter Monday he did gardening at his Pimville, Soweto, home with no intention of joining a march to a nearby informal settlement over cable theft.
However, Diale, 44, was picked up from his home by men who were part of the march to Chicken Farm informal settlement in Kliptown sparked by continuous power outages in Pimville zones 3, 4, 5 and 7 due to cable theft.
The latest outage hit on Sunday.
Little did Diale’s family know the father of two would be gunned down on the day, and they are seeking answers .
Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla “Lux” Dlamini was part of the group as a resident of Pimville.
Diale’s younger brother Neo said he last saw his brother on Monday morning.
“I got a call from people who were there [at the march]. They told me he was missing from the group that had gone to the settlement. When I arrived there, the first thing I saw were his sneakers and black jeans .
“We were told by those who were there that a white VW Golf with a Lesotho registration plate arrived on the scene and the person inside opened fire on the Pimville residents. As a family we are asking if these people will ever be found. A person from another country can commit a crime after which he runs back to his country. It will be difficult to trace him.”
He said he was shattered as his brother had played a huge role in his life.
“He was a father figure to me. A very humble man. Our father died in 1993, I was only three years old. Though he was my brother, he raised me and I grew up knowing him as a father,” Diale said.
He said his neighbourhood has experienced power outages for some time due to cable theft next to the informal settlement.
Residents of the informal settlement dismissed allegations that they could be the ones who opened fire on the group.
“These people came here and demanded electricity from us. We came out as the community and told them we do not work for Eskom. They came here for war. They were not here to inquire about anything,” one resident said.
She said she did not see anyone from the informal settlement opening fire on the Pimville residents.
One of the organisers of the march, Siphiwe Mnisi, said the community first went to the area where the cable had been stolen near the settlement and saw trenches where it was removed.
“We got information that people who have a hand in cable theft are from Chicken Farm. We said let us go and speak to the leadership of the informal settlement about the issue.”
Mnisi said one of the leaders came down to meet them at the entrance to the settlement and less than two minutes into the conversation they heard gunshots nearby.
“The first gunshots were from the back and people started running. Then gunshots came from the settlement. That is when we realised things were really bad. One resident from the settlement hit Kgomotso with a beer bottle,” Mnisi said.
Mnisi said he did not see the VW Golf but others who were with him said it was the one firing at the crowd.
He said he only realised later that Kgomotso had been shot.
Cable theft has been a serious problem for Soweto, causing disruptions in electricity supply in areas serviced by Eskom and City Power.
Eskom provincial spokesperson Tumi Mashishi said the area is not supplied by the power utility.
A security guard at a substation where the cable that supplies Pimville runs from said theft of infrastructure is common.
“The situation is so bad that if Eskom comes and replaces the cable, tonight they will come and take it. It is a hopeless situation,” said the guard, who spoke to Sowetan anonymously.
Provincial police spokesperson Col Brenda Muridili said no arrests have been made.
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