Cape Town - A Khayelitsha man is dreading identifying the body of his brother, who was murdered in a mass shooting.
Zingisa Jack, 26, was one of three people killed at a shebeen in Enkanini on Thursday evening.
Another of the victims was about to go to initiation school and had been celebrating ahead of going.
Two others were wounded and rushed to hospital. The motive for the murders was unknown but the police are investigating.
Jack’s brother Siphamandla said: “I last saw him when he went to work on Thursday night; I guess he wanted a drink or two when he came back from work and went to the shebeen.
“I don’t know how and who killed him but someone came to my place and informed me about the shooting, but when I arrived at the scene, his body had been taken to the mortuary.”
Siphamandla said his brother wasn’t a criminal.
“I know that he isn’t involved in criminal activities. I think he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I’m stressing about going to the mortuary to identify his body this morning. Since the shooting happened I have been isolating myself because his body has to be removed from the state to a private mortuary.
“Zingisa didn’t have a funeral policy and I don’t have money to move him or bury him in the Eastern Cape. I’m very heartbroken because this was unexpected and the shebeen owner has to give us answers and also contribute to the funeral.”
Siphamandla said that they were left shocked by the mass killing.
“The last time this happened was last year when six people were killed.”
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen said that this was yet another horrific incident.
“I’m angry that these mass murders are continuing. I urge anyone with information to make it available to any and all law enforcement agencies so that the perpetrators can be arrested.
“From a Western Cape government perspective, we’ve already increased our raids on so-called known drug houses and with inspections of liquor outlets.
“Just last weekend, we raided four houses in Mitchells Plain, alleged to be selling drugs. At two premises, drugs were confiscated and two arrests were made, while a third person who was not from the area was taken in for profiling.
“This past Saturday evening, we visited liquor outlets in Mitchells Plain to ensure they were compliant with their licences. One outlet did not have its licence on the premises, while the other thought they could trade outside of the operating times. Both incidents were dealt with by the Western Cape Liquor Authority (WCLA) inspectors.”
Allen said he would engage the WCLA to conduct an urgent inspection at the tavern where the incident occurred.
“We will also further ramp-up our raids and inspections, as the abuse of liquor and availability of drugs are part of the reasons why crime continues to be rife in our areas.”
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said that Serious and Violent Crimes detectives had been assigned to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of three people on Thursday night in Harare during an incident in which two others were wounded.
“Information at our disposal suggests that two unknown suspects opened fire at the victims at around 7.40pm at a tavern in Enkanini informal settlement,” he explained.
“The motive for the murders and attempted murders is still unknown.”
Any person who can shed light on the matter is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or use the mobile application My SAPS.