Families of those shot at Mdlalose’s tarven share their pain
The 19-year-old, Sithembile Gamede was in Grade 10 at Thaba-Jabula Secondary School at the time of his death.
The bereaved family of 19-year-old, Sithembile Gamede who died in the shooting said it would take long to get over the horrific manner in which their son died. He was a doing Grade 10 at Thaba-Jabula Secondary School at the time of his death.
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“He left here, going to play snookar at the tavern. It was not long after he let that we heard gun shots and as we were hidden in shock, someone came running to our doorstep calling us out to the scene.
“When I entered the tavern, there was blood all over and bodies were piled up on each other near the main entrance. As I looked closer, my son’s lifeless body was lying by the door, with a bullet on his forehead,” said Zingisile Golimpi.
Young Gamede is the fifth of six children in the family.
They described him as a gentle boy who was always happy and did not bother those around him. They further shared that they had big hopes for his future.
“Like any boy child, he was a bit troublesome but as the only boy child in the house,” he said.
“We had hoped that he would become a responsible man and look after his sisters and mother.”
The shuttered mother, Nowethu Gamede pleaded with law enforcement to take immediate action on the heightened gun violence and illegal firearms in the community.
“Every other weekend there are gun shots. Our children are dying in this place. We can only hope that now that the Minister of Police was in the area, we will be looked after because the Orlando Police Station has failed us.”
The parents who are currently unemployed added that they would be relaying on government assistance to raise enough funds to bury their son back home in the Eastern Cape.
Residents used Cele’s visit to raise grievances pertaining to on-going crime and safety challenges in the area.
They called for more police visibility, action against illegal guns, and a mobile police station in the area to counter the high crime levels.
“We are not thrilled with the police in the area and we are not expecting anything tangible to come from his visit.
They are here to be seen as though they are doing their job when in reality, they are failing us,” said a resident, Wandile Rafuza who has stayed in Nomzamo settlements since 2010.
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