“I closed my eyes as they started shooting, but one man argued we are harmless children and they must not kill us.”
These were the words of a 13-year-old boy whose five family members — an elderly couple, their daughter, granddaughter, and grandson — were killed in a mass shooting at Ncinjana village, Mthentu, in the notorious Bhityi policing precinct outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.
Siphiwo Seti, 70, his wife Nowinile Sizeka Seti, 64, daughter Alina Seti, 39, granddaughter Azakhe, 17, and grandson Akhanya, 13, were shot dead and three others, including a 19-year-old who was shot in the head, have been left with serious wounds.
The boy is one of two children who survived the attack by escaping and alerting neighbours, who called the police.
This was one of three recent mass shootings in the OR Tambo district where a total of 29 people were shot dead — 18 in Ngobozana, Lusikisiki, on September 28 and six in Godini village in Qumbu.
“I am scared. These men can come back and shoot us all,” said the grade 6 pupil. The boy cannot be identified due to his age and the nature of the crime.
He said they had been watching TV when the attack happened.
The boy and a 15-year-old cousin were the two children whose lives were spared.
“The men kicked open a door and pointed guns at everyone. They demanded cellphones, guns and money before opening fire. One of them wanted to kill us all, but another one stopped him, saying they must not kill children.
“After the shooting, they left with the phones. We later crawled out and went to report the matter to our neighbour and we phoned our mother and told her of the attack and shooting,” he said.
The 13-year-old said when the shooting was happening, they had been scared and crying.
“I don’t feel safe in this village,” he said. “I wish we could relocate to a safer place where there is no shooting and no death.”
Now they have done the worst, the most gruesome thing, killing five family members of the same homestead. This so horrible, they were determined to wipe out my whole family.
— Seti family spokesperson Novotile Seti
According to community leaders, including Mthentu’s Nkosi Xolile Mbane and Matyenengqina’s Mfundo Mtirara, more than 20 people have been killed in Bhityi in two months.
Seti family spokesperson Novotile Seti said members of the family had been killed in incidents in 2002 and 2022.
“Now they have done the worst, the most gruesome thing, killing five family members of the same homestead. This so horrible. They were determined to wipe out my whole family,” she said.
She said three children affected by the shooting were due to write matric exams.
“One is among the five who have been shot dead, another is injured and in critical condition in hospital and one had her mother killed in the mass shooting.
“The government must do more. We feel the police and government are failing us. We are living in fear that the killers may come back and attack again.”
Seti said they even feared speaking to the media and police.
“We believe someone is orchestrating these killings and, in each year, gives orders of who should be killed. Seti family members and relatives have abandoned their homes and fled the village in fear for their lives.”
Premier Oscar Mabuyane visited the bereaved family on Saturday afternoon. Earlier he had attended the mass funeral of six crime busters and community patrollers who were killed at Godini village in Qumbu.
Mabuyane called on police to arrest the killers within three days.
“I wish the arrests can be affected now. We cannot have such people, who have no regard for human life, roam around the streets as they would kill more. The sooner they are arrested, the better,” he said.
Mabuyane said he had written to President Cyril Ramaphosa about the Bhityi mass killing.
“We need all necessary resources, including the military, to fight this crime. Criminals have declared war, they are brazen. We need soldiers to assist in dealing with crime,” Mabuyane said.
Mabuyane, Mbane and Mtirara said they strongly believed the shooting had been a revenge attack within the bigger Seti family.
“Excluding the five killed on Friday, no fewer than eight other people have been killed in different households of the Seti family since 2022 in revenge attacks,” Mbane said.
Police spokesperson Col Siphokazi Mawisa confirmed police were investigating five counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
“The family was asleep in two different houses in a yard,” Mawisa said. “The husband and wife were sleeping in a rondavel when two unknown males entered and fatally shot them.
“They ran out of the rondavel and started firing shots at the people who were sleeping in another house and fatally shot three and left two injured.
“Two children who survived the attack managed to run away and informed the neighbour, who alerted the police.”
Mtirara said the main problems in the area are stock theft and revenge attacks.
“Every three days someone is gunned down in Bhityi. Shooting and toting of guns is our daily life. People are killed like flies. In Bhityi, killing other people has become a hobby. Everyone, including schoolchildren, owns a gun and steals livestock.
“Bhityi is under siege from stock thieves, rapists, drug lords, extortionists, car hijackers and hired hitmen, iinkabi, who are terrorising the community.
“The government must intervene decisively.”
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