The mother of a man who was allegedly shot and killed by men associated with a well-known criminal from Umlazi north of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal,is living in fear. This, after the man who allegedly ordered a hit on her son threatened to kill her if she testified against him in another matter where he allegedly shot her son three years ago.
THE FIRST SHOOTING
Pinky Khumalo is currently in hiding. Khumalo's son, Smanga (26), was shot and killed a day before Easter after he refused to withdraw an attempted murder case against the alleged criminal. Smanga was first shot, allegedly by the same suspect in 2021, in front of his mother after he demanded his cellphone back from the suspect. The incident landed him in a wheelchair.
According to Khumalo, her son was visiting his grandmother in Umlazi when three young men from the same township approached him and demanded his cellphone at gunpoint. "My son called me and told me about the incident and because I knew one of those guys, we went to his house to get the cellphone back. He came out of nowhere and shot Smanga. I stood there in shock as my son lay in a pool of blood, luckily, he survived but he became wheelchair-bound," Khumalo said, adding that the mother of the suspect told her in her face that there was nothing anyone could do because her son was known to be trigger-happy.
FEARING FOR HER LIFE
Khumalo told ZiMoja that a case of attempted murder was opened but that the suspect was never arrested."The police in Umlazi had to change four investigating officers in my son's case but no one was arrested. Instead, they advised us to withdraw the charges against the person who shot my son," she said. Khumalo added that the suspect who is behind bars for a murder case, has been sending his friends to threaten her son and also calling him from prison. "The threats became a reality last week when my son was shot and killed by the friends of the criminal. My son would still be alive today if the police in Umlazi took the threats very seriously when we reported to them. My son is now dead and now I am unable to stay in my own home because the criminal recently told me that I am next. He said once he kills me, he will walk free from jail," she said.
ALLEGED KILLERS ARRESTED
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Umlazi police have arrested two suspects aged 23 and 36 for the murder of a 29-year-old man. They appeared in the uMlazi Magistrates Court on Tuesday; 9 April 2024, and the case was remanded to 16 April 2024. "It is alleged that on 28 March 2024, the victim was at Umlazi Q section, Mzungulu Street, when he was ambushed by armed suspects who opened fire, fatally wounding him," said Netshiunda.
