The family of Eugene Tshililo, the man killed outside Faranani Primary school in Protea Glen in Soweto, is struggling to come to terms with his death.It is alleged that on Tuesday  a group  of unknown suspects attempted to hijack a scholar transport outside the school. The parent witnessed the incident and tried to stop the hijackers  but was unfortunately shot by one of the suspects in front of his seven year old son.

BREADWINNER DOWN

Eugene's mother Sarah Tshililo could barely speak, her pain echoed through her voice. "My son was everything to me. He was a bread winner and comforter. I'm in pain and I don't even know what to say. We are still trying to come to terms with everything,"she said. Family spokeswoman Felicia Kayisi said they were relying on the deceased's son to relate to them exactly what happened. "The boy can barely speak and didn't want to get out of his father's car. He watched his father get shot and die that's not a sight he will forget anytime soon,"she said.

FLASHBACK OF A MAN DROPPING DEAD

Ivy Khoza, a survivor in the hijacking incident, believes that they have been a target for a while. She told Zimoja that she has flashbacks of the man in a green T-shirt fall to the ground.She said she and the woman, whose car was stolen, got to the school at the same time. However they were parked in different spots. "What drew my attention was the gunshot I heard. When I turned I saw the deceased fall. The driver of the hijacked car was handing over her keys to a suspect." Khoza added that she sped off and the suspects chased her with the hijacked car. "I drove at a speed of 180 and made a few turns.My last turn led me to a a roadblock where I screamed hijack to the metro police.I don't know what happened to the hijackers after that."

TROUBLE SLEEPING AT NIGHT

She said she had trouble sleeping at night but had to continue working and fetch the kids she transports in the morning. "I'm a bread winner so I have to continue working. Despite the trauma, I have to keep moving,"she said. Karabo Motlhomi, the public relations officer for the Greater Johannesburg Scholar Transport Association told Zimoja that it had to get to this point for the government to recognise them. "Today we've lost one of our own because nobody cares about us. We've knocked at the Department of Education and asked them to regulate us but they ignored us. I'm telling you about this school, they don't even know the drivers who fetch the kids from school. This means that anyone can come and fetch a child, even if it's a kidnapper."

SAFETY

The newly appointed MEC for Education Matome Chiloane said the loss of a life in the hands of criminals was painful. He said it was time to bring law enforcement officers to guard schools. "The premier spoke about the recruitment of 6000 JMPD officers , they will come in handy in making our schools a safe space. Our learners and teachers will be given counselling as well as those affected by this unfortunate incident."