The families of seven men shot dead in Philippi East on Friday night are appealing for financial assistance to return their loved ones’ bodies to the Eastern Cape.
The victims, Maphelo Msuthu, 28, Sanele Mkizwana, 31, Sisanda Noxojini, 23, and four others, were killed in the Better Life area of Road 53.
They had left their homes in the Eastern Cape in search of work, hoping to earn a living with an insurance company.
Msuthu, originally from Flagstaff, had been in Cape Town for less than a month, while Noxojini had lived in the city for three months after leaving Lusikisiki.
Ntombekhaya Msuthu, a relative of Maphelo and Sanele, described the family’s anguish.
“Maphelo first worked in Matatiele for IFA and then moved with the same company to Cape Town. We learned about the shooting from someone in Durban who works for the same company, who informed us that Maphelo and my cousin Sanele had been killed. We don’t know what happened. We are in the dark; there are no proper details,” she said.
She added that the family has been unable to sleep since learning the news.
“All these guys were really humble, and we have never heard of any trouble coming from them. Maphelo was the father of two young children. Four of the victims are from our village. What troubles us is that we don’t have the money to bring their bodies to the Eastern Cape. We have been holding meetings to figure out how we will do that because they didn’t have policies,” Ntombekhaya said.
Noxojini’s aunt, Noxolo Mvalelwa, also paid tribute to him, calling him “a kind and respectful person” who cared deeply for his family and looked after the children.
“We were very shocked that he was murdered this way. It still seems like a bad dream; it’s difficult to accept all of this. I have decided to stay away from social media because people are saying horrible things about these young men,” she said.
After the mass shooting, the Western Cape police launched a large-scale manhunt.
Detectives from the Provincial Serious and Violent Crimes Unit are pursuing every available lead to identify and apprehend those responsible.
Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General (Adv.) Thembisile Patekile expressed concern about the high level of violence and appealed to the community for assistance.
“Community cooperation is crucial in bringing those responsible to book and restoring safety to our neighbourhoods,” Patekile said.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS mobile application. All information will be treated with strict confidentiality.
If anyone would like to donate to the families, please contact Thandeka Mzondi on 063 928 5949 and Mvalelwa on 073 215 2227.
