‘Christmas will be a thorn after losing my cousins in the Mdlalose tavern shooting’

Mawande Ndlangisa, whose two cousins were shot and killed at Mdlalose's Tavern in the Nomzamo settlement in Orlando East, Soweto compared his cousins’ deaths to painful, open flesh wounds which don’t heal with time.

Mlondi, 27, and Njabulo Ndlangisa, 29, were among the people shot when gunmen opened fire on patrons shortly after midnight on July 10 2022.

“To this day it is painful. We never expected them to die like that. We miss them,” he said.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been planning his festive travels with the two brothers. It was usually around this time they would head to  their home in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu-Natal.

For Mawande,  going home this  Christmas will be tough.

“It’s going to be painful when we arrive at home.  At least the elders have accepted but for some of us who are their peers, it is going to be difficult this festive season. We keep on trying,” he said.

“We stayed with them in the same area at home and now when we go home, the pain of losing them is worse and brings back memories of them,” he said.

He said the most difficult part of their deaths was the circumstances in which they were killed — shot while they were unsuspecting and defenceless.

Njabulo left behind a wife and child. The family was doing its best to support them.

“Death is death, it is painful, but it could have been better if the person didn’t die in those circumstances,” Mawande said.

The Mdlalose shootings shocked the country. They left left 16 people dead and seven wounded. Police minister Bheki Cele said at the time more than 130 spent cartridges were found at the scene, painting a grim picture of what unfolded. 

Five suspects have been arrested in connection with the murders.

TimesLIVE Premium previously reported a high-ranking Basotho gangster is one of the five suspects accused of the murders.

The Orlando magistrate's court postponed their bail hearing to January 16 2023.

Patrons who died during the shooting included Daliwonga Mluma, 54, Simthembile Gamede, 19, from Eastern Cape, the Mjoli brothers Sithembiso, 34, and Luyanda, 19, Philani Mngonyama, 22, Siphethuxolo Chiliza, 26, brothers Thamsanqa Malunga, 24, and Nkosiyezwe Malunga, 27, Sifiso Sosiba, 44, Menzi Nzimande, 26, and Nhlonipho Mbanjwa, 31, from Umzimkhulu.

Soon after the shootings some residents in the settlement cited the proliferation of illegal guns and lack of electricity for the high crime rate.

Andisiwa Mnyembane, 37, who stays a few metres away from the tavern, told TimesLIVE at the time the area was a dark zone with street lights that do not work.

“A gun is a play toy here. We are used to it. When we heard gunshots on Sunday [July 10], we didn't know people were dying. We thought it was the usual occurrence as they always shoot guns,” she was quoted.

Resident Ntombi Meji said since the shocking incident in July, crime in the area had decreased.

"We have seen more police visibility in our community, unlike before the incident," she said. 

The Mdlalose tavern has been closed since the incident. 

TimesLIVE

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