The image of his father's body lying bloody and lifeless on a dusty road will forever be etched in the memory of a grade 8 Amaoti boy.
Bonginkosi Dladla, 44, died in Inanda, north of Durban, on Monday along with neighbours Tseko Mofokeng, 34, and Sanele Khumalo, 34.
The three men had left a community meeting to discuss crime to buy food when they were shot by unknown gunmen.
The shootings came after three people died on Saturday and another man on Sunday linked to criminal gangs in the crime-ridden community.
Dladla's wife, who asked not to be identified, told TimesLIVE Premium her son should not have seen his father's body, but living in the area meant he couldn't escape that reality.
She said her husband attended the crime-fighting meeting that they heard would be addressed by police minister Senzo Mchunu. Then she was told about a shooting in which her husband was one of the victims.
The mother of three said she went to the crime scene that was teeming with angry community members.
“My son in grade 8 followed me. He actually saw the police covering his father's body, which lay there on the road until close to 5pm. It was picked up by a police van as the mortuary vehicle did not come,” she said.
The woman said she secretly went to the meeting earlier in the day.
“He [Bonginkosi] was not going to allow me due to the volatility of the area in which we live. I even saw him during the meeting. Little did I know it was going to be the last I’d see him,” she said.
Tensions in the area escalated after a feared Inanda West gang leader and his accomplice were killed, allegedly in a police shoot-out in nearby Cottonlands.
In the aftermath of the gang leader's death, a flurry of WhatsApp voice notes surfaced as his gang members vowed to retaliate.
According to provincial police commissioner Lt-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the gang leader faced arrest in a murder case. He was linked to 20 cases and had killed 10 people. His other cases include robbery, attempted murder, intimidation and arson.
Dladla's partner said they were victims of crime when three weeks ago Dladla's house was burgled and his clothes and tools stolen.
Mofokeng's mother is also reeling after the shooting.
She said her son could not go to work on Monday because of the protests.
“He came back to drop off his bag before going to the meeting. He was the only breadwinner. After hearing the news I fell ill but had no way to get to the doctor,” she said.
The family, originally from the Free State, plans to bury him in his home province.
Khumalo’s family said the crime wave had worsened over the past few months. They blamed the young teen gangs for the reign of terror.
“In South Africa do criminals get arrested? Most cases get thrown out of the courts. The authorities will say there is no evidence,” said family members.
The Inanda community policing forum didn't respond to queries about the shootings. It is understood members have gone into hiding after the deaths.
“There is a hit list going around. So these youths are gunning for anyone who stands in the way. I can reprimand one of these teenagers now and a few hours or a day later I will be ambushed,” one community member told TimesLIVE Premium.
Mkhwanazi said the spate of killings started with a shooting at a homestead on Saturday where three people aged 54, 21 and 27 died and two people were injured. He said the community in the area felt they needed to hunt down the perpetrators.
He said on Monday some community members brought the area to a standstill and convened a meeting at the stadium to discuss crime-fighting strategies.
But Mkhwanazi said many people arrived at the stadium and it was chaos as some were “having fun and enjoying themselves”.
He said the police were present to control the crowd when the shooting started.
“In the chaos the shooters also disappeared. The police couldn't engage for fear of shooting an innocent person.”
He said Monday's shooting could have been a revenge attack for Saturday's killings. Police are investigating.
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