For years, Alice Bugan has been patrolling the streets of Mitchells Plain making sure that everyone’s laaities are either playing safely in the road or shooed away from gevaarlike hoeke.
But never did the 67-year-old mother ever think that she would soon be attending to her own son’s murder scene.
Alice, who has been part of the Eastridge Neighbourhood Watch for more than 26 years, had the grim task of identifying her only child’s body after he died in a hail of bullets on Sunday evening, just metres from his home.
Patrick Peter Mokhuane, 27, was one of three men who was shot on the corner of Luiperd Street and AZ Berman Drive just after 9pm.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk has confirmed a double murder and an attempted murder case is open for investigation, with the motive still unknown.
No arrests have been made yet.
A heartbroken Alice says she has nothing to hide and openly claimed that the only thing her son did wrong was smoke dagga and buttons.
“He was not a gangster, if he was, I would say so,” the crime-fighter says.
“In fact none of them were gangsters, so I am still trying to figure out why they would fire so many shots at them?
“All they did was stand together to make a fire.”
At the scene, close to 40 cones marked out where bullet casings were found.
Patrick and another 34-year-old man died instantly when they were shot in the head while a third victim suffered a serious stomach wound.
Alice explains that when she arrived at the scene, it felt as if her world just stood still.
“As a neighbourhood watch member, you feel for every innocent child whose body you have to cover, but to stand there uncovering your own child is something you would never expect,” the hartseer mom says.
“What makes it even more difficult is that just last week, we bonded on a level of understanding because I could use the skills I learnt at a trauma workshop and implement it at home.
“We got to learn things about each other in such a short space of time.”
Alice says her son still smiled and told her he would see her soon, and that she should keep safe.
“Those shooters robbed me of my only child, and the chance for him to get a girlfriend and get married, and they took away the only opportunity for me to be a grandma, that’s what hurts the most,” she adds.
MEC for Community Safety and Police Oversight, Reagen Allen, sent his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished the third victim a speedy recovery.
“My prayer is that there will be solace during this difficult period,” Allen added.
“It also shows how hard we still have to work to make our communities safer.”