A grieving woman has come forward to say that four of the victims of a taxi violence-related shooting in Khayelitsha last week are her relatives.
Ivakele Malindi, 37, says her brother Thoba Ntandane, 29, and their cousin Ntsikelelo Myeki, 23, were killed while Thoba’s fiancée and their five-month-old baby were wounded and had to be hospitalised.
A third person, 21-year-old Okuhle James, was also killed while three more people were injured in the shooting on the corner of Oscar Mpetha Road and Mew Way in Harare.
Thoba’s baby girl was discharged on Saturday, but her mom, who was shot five times, is still in hospital.
Ivakele says the group had gone to the Harare Police Station and on their way back home they were attacked by unknown gunmen in another taxi.
“At the time they went to the police station the taxis were not fully operational but they were working around Khayelitsha,” says Ivakele.
“My brother left with his fiancée and baby and our cousin to retrieve stolen items at the police station. This was supposed to be a short trip.”
She says she heard the gunshots near her home and her husband went to check.
“Someone sent me a text and said something happened to my brother and when I went to the scene I saw my brother was sitting in the front of the taxi, he had been killed.
“His fiancée, who was already out of the taxi, was shot five times and the baby in the wrist and her stomach was grazed by a bullet.
“My cousin who was sitting in the back was also killed, the driver was nowhere near the scene at the time,” she adds.
Okuhle had just gotten into the taxi when passengers in another taxi opened fire.
An emotional Ivakele says she was shocked when she received a video of the murder minutes later.
“It was not even two minutes after the incident and people were sending me the video, but I didn’t even look at the people in the taxi until I went to the scene.
“It’s quite concerning that this happened because the victims’ families had not been notified at the time.”
The family says they are now struggling to get money from the Luvuyo Burial Society, which Thoba joined in 2018.
“He missed his payment because of the taxi violence, and on the day he was shot he had indicated he would pay. We didn’t think to look for receipts in the taxi.
“Now all the premiums he paid went down the drain because they refuse to pay out,” Ivakele explains.
When the Daily Voice called the Luvuyo Burial Society, a man who answered the phone said there was a contract and Thoba signed it.
“He agreed that even if he missed one payment there would be no payout and his insurance lapses.”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za