MEC in Ladysmith after shootings

MEC for Transport, Community Safety & Liaison Mr Willies Mchunu was in Ladysmith yesterday (Monday) to have a briefing with Mayor Vincent Madlala concerning the shootings and horror taxi crash that claimed the lives of 16 people on Saturday.

The briefing was held at the Town Hall. From there, a convoy that included officers from RTI, SAPS and Public Safety, as well as representatives from various media groups, made their way to Ladysmith Provincial Hospital to visit the two survivors of the taxi crash. In addition to speaking to the two survivors, one of them in critical condition, MEC Mchunu also gave them flowers.

One of the two survivors, 59-year-old Eunice Qwabe, says she recalls the taxi veering off the road. She was thrown clear of the vehicle. While lying in the grass, severely injured, she heard gunshots but was unable to lift her head to see what was going on. Everything else is a blur. She sustained head injuries. She is currently still in hospital and partially paralysed.

The convoy then made its way to the scene of the accident and the community hall in Ezakheni C-section. A large crowd of relatives and the one survivor of the second (drive-by) shooting, Sakhile Dlamini, were at the hall. The crowd was addressed by Mayor Madlala and SAPS Brigadier ZO Kunene, who explained the circumstances surrounding the accident and the shootings. She also made an appeal to the public to come forward if they have any information regarding the shootings.
Sakhile Dlamini was the only survivor of the shooting in which five of his family members were killed at a car wash in Ezakheni D-section. Sakhile sustained two gunshot wounds to the leg. He says he can’t remember the car from which the shots were fired because it was dark. Fearing for his life, he fled on foot, despite being injured. “I was terrified. Shots were ringing out all around me,” says Sakhile.

Provincial Communications KZN released this press report on Monday: Following the 16 deaths this past weekend at Ezakheni during separate incidents, the Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, has assembled a team from the Provincial Office consisting of Detectives, Hawks and Crime Intelligence to probe these incidents. Members from the National Intervention Unit will return to the area and be deployed to ensure stability. During the past month, the NIU was deployed in the area and made numerous arrests. During their deployment, no incidents were reported and their deployment was terminated last week Thursday.

Lieutenant General Ngobeni made an impassioned plea for people to remain calm and allow police to investigate these attacks without interference. “The police have a constitutional mandate to investigate crime and we urge those on the ground to cease speculating. We are mindful that public utterances may have an impact on the investigation or peace and stability in the area. We will be co-opting other departments as the investigation progresses,” she said. “We appeal to members of the community to work with police to solve these cases by providing information that will lead to the arrest of the perpetrators. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the suspects can contact their local police station or Crime Stop on 08600-10111,” she added.