The KwaZulu-Natal family of a tuck shop owner in which six people were ambushed and killed on Saturday have denied claims that the shooting was an apparent hit or that drugs were being sold from their business.
Siqhopholozi Tuckshop owner Bhekumuzi Mzobe, 65, was gunned down together with his nephews, Siboniso Mzobe, 32 and Sanele Khenisa, 32. Three others Phumlani Mpithimpithi, 62, Sphamandla Shezi and Siyakudumisa Mtsengu also died when three men stormed the business that operated from a container in Savannah Park, west of Durban.
Police said initial investigations revealed three of the dead included the tuck shop owner and his two sons while a fourth man, who was waiting to see a traditional healer, might have been the target of the Saturday night hit.
Police said a seventh gunshot victim died in hospital on Sunday.
According to a family spokesperson, who is also one of the survivors and didn’t want to be named, Mzobe had run the business for three months after retiring as a school security guard in the area.
We really do not know who would be so brazen as to commit such a crime. My father was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
— Victim’s daughter, Simphiwe Mpithimpithi
The spokesperson said when the three men entered, they gave no clue as to their intention until they cocked their guns and he ducked.
“That is when I had ran for cover. Another person who tried following me while I ran was left injured,” he said.
Mzobe was described as “easygoing and well-liked” by the community.
“The only reason I survived was because I was at the back of the container at the time.”
He said the family was hurt by a police statement claiming the shooting was an apparent hit on someone who was waiting for a traditional healer. Rumours have also surfaced that drugs were being sold from the tuck shop.
“The police haven’t been here to interview or speak to the family,” he said.
Peggy Nkonyeni, provincial community safety MEC, visited the crime on Saturday together with provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and were metby angry community members.
They said the tuck shop had been popular with the youth and alcohol was sold there.
Simphiwe Mpithimpithi, who lost his father, told TimesLIVE Premium he was struggling to come to terms with the loss.
“We really do not know who would be so brazen as to commit such a crime. My father was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Mpithimpithi.
Like Bhekumuzi, Phumlani had been popular in the community.
“He was a people’s person and community leader,” said Mpithimpithi. The steady stream of mourners who visited his home, some clad in church uniform, was testament to this.
The KZN Liquor authority revealed the tuck shop had also sold liquor illegally.
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