Tshwane metro has condemned an assassination attempt on Shoes Maloka, leader of informal traders body Tshwane Barekisi Forum, recently.
Maloka was shot after a taxi from the city centre dropped him off near his home in Clarina, north of Pretoria, last Thursday evening.
One of several bullets fired to Maloka stroke him in the chest and the rest missed.
He is receiving life-saving medical care at a hospital that could not be mentioned for security reasons.
Mayoral spokesperson Blessing Manale said they were deeply saddened about the attempted murder.
“The mayor is sending his deepest condolences to Maloka and his family. Police should prioritise this case and bring these barbaric attacks to an end,” Manale said.
Manale cited the incident happened at the time they had brought informal traders to the table to discuss genuine issues affecting them.
It is suspected the shooting incident was aimed at preventing the popular Tshwane Barekisi Forum, a hawkers’ body chaired by Maloka, from participating in elections to take place soon, where organisations who represent hawkers, will be elected.
A leader of Tshwane Barekisi Forum who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “We suspect that our rivals want to destabilise us so we do not participate in the upcoming elections,” he said.
Maloka is the second Barekisi Forum leader to have been shot in a period of five months. The first was forum secretary, Eliot Nkadimeng, who was shot in a similar way as Maloka, on 6 October last year.
Nkadimeng was also shot after being dropped off by a taxi near his home in Nellmapius.
He counted himself lucky after he had been shot four times by unknown men and spent more than two months in hospital before being discharged to recover at home.
One of Barekisi Forum’s leaders said the recent shooting incident where their leader had been shot, confirmed their earlier suspicion that the attacks on their leaders were not just random crimes, but a plot to kill them.
Akasia police confirmed a case of attempted murder was opened.
Akasia police spokesperson, Captain Riana van Aarde, said the suspected shooter is still at large and police is investigating the matter.
Police urged anyone with information to call Akasia detectives on 012-541-1005.
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