There was a sombre mood in Harare yesterday, April 17, after eight people including two women were shot dead in two related incidents in Botyi Street and Ncumo Road in the early hours of the morning.
Three people were first shot in Botyi Street while five were shot at Ncumo Road opposite Kwamfundo Senior Secondary School.
A visibly shaken Phumla Nkomana, who lost her son and nephew in the shooting, said her son Nceba, 41, was sharing his shack with his cousin brother Collen, 40, and his girlfriend.
Ms Nkomana said she was informed by her sister in the morning that her son and nephew had been shot, including the girlfriend and two young men.
“What I know is that they were recovering drug addicts who were trying to change their lives and were working at a nearby car wash.
“I have no idea what is the motive for the killing. We just recently buried their grandmother and I do not know how I’m going to bury them.
“I have no words to express my feelings because this thing just happened now. There are a lot of emotions right now,” she said.
A devastated Nolubabalo Ncanywa lost her son, Yibanathi, 31.
Ms Ncanywa said she wishes it was just a bad dream that she could wake up from.
She said she knew that her son smoked even though he would deny it but she was not unsure whether he was a drug addict or not.
She described her son as a sweet soul at home who never gave her any problems.
“I have no idea what he could have done that would warrant someone to kill him. I feel so hurt. No parent deserves to lose a child like this,” she said.
Harare police station commander Colonel Thembela Mahlatshana confirmed that eight people had been killed including two women and an investigation is under way.
A resident who did want to be named, said it was good that the men had been killed as they used to terrorise residents walking in the area and rob them of their cellphones and other belongings.
Chairperson of the Harare Community Police Forum (CPF), Funeka Soldaat, said it was shocking that eight people could be killed in this manner.
Ms Soldaat said they have heard from the residents in the area that those killed had been troublesome and the spot in Ncumo Road is known to be a hotspot for mugging. However, she said no one has the right to take someone else’s life.
She said residents and police should work hand in hand in ensuring that communities are safe.
Ward councillor, Anele Guebuza, said he knew the men killed as they usually hang out in the spot opposite his office.
He described them as amaphara who would often mug people of their belongings. However, he said how they were killed was shocking.
