The remains of four KwaZulu-Natal men, including IFP eThekwini ward 39 chairperson Nhlakanipho Biyela, were brought to the KwaMashu hostel on Wednesday.
Biyela, 41, his relative and radio presenter Nkosinathi Biyela, 40, Sanele Shandu, 23, and Nhlakanipho Ntuli, 30, were gunned down last Thursday after attending a meeting in the Duffs Road community hall.
In a statement last week, police said the four were suspected robbers, murderers and extortionists. They were fatally wounded in a shoot-out with police. Police said when they intercepted their vehicle, the suspects opened fire and police retaliated.
Emotions ran high when undertakers brought the bodies of the Biyela cousins on Wednesday afternoon, with IFP party supporters forming a guard of honour on a street near the notorious KwaMashu hostel.
The area is an IFP stronghold. The party's faithful sang religious songs as the duo’s families performed rituals in accordance with the Nazareth Baptist Church.
Others held placards denouncing the murders and calling for swift action.
Community policing forum representative Nkosikhona Mcineka said there are many questions about the deaths.
Mcineka said around 11am on Thursday, he had received a call from a rank manager in the area who informed him about a red VW polo which was being shot at by the police.
“I told him I did not know anything about it. We are questioning why we are being told these people had fought with the police. It’s disturbing because there is a video that surfaced on social media which shows the victims surrendering,” said Mcineka.
He said they were demanding justice.
“We need to get an explanation about what the police were doing to these victims. If it happens that the police received the wrong information about the profiles of the victims, the informer should be locked up because clearly the person was serving their own interests,” said Mcineka.
He said the Biyela relatives were often at odds with the ward councillor Sandile Gwala.
“We put Gwala in his position, now things have not been the same. Tensions have simmered,” he said.
Attempts to get in touch with Gwala were unsuccessful.
Zamokuhle Biyela said he has been dealt a heavy blow by his brother Nhlakanipho's death.
“He was a breadwinner and a pillar in our home. What concerns us the most is that my brother's passing was caused by the police. The police used their powers in a wrong way. I am convinced they have been sent by rogue people,” said Biyela.
He said they were saddened by how the police did not enforce the laws, accusing them of being on the wrong side of the law.
“We now fear the police. We now do not know where were are going to go for protection,” said Biyela.
He said they had to contend with sitting at the bloodied crime scene for hours.
“We got there at about noon but were told the incident happened at 11am and the bodies were only removed from the crime scene around 10pm,” said Biyela.
Nkosinathi Biyela’s death had also been met with shock in the Intokozo community radio station in uMlazi, south of Durban.
A distraught Thamisanqa Ntuli, who is the father of siblings Shandu and Ntuli, said his sons' deaths was heartbreaking.
“It's difficult. I just wish the people who killed my sons would have killed me instead,” said Ntuli.
He said he was dismayed by the utterances of ward councillors on a media platform that his sons were troublesome.
“I was puzzled by the whole thing because the councillor said my children had terrorised and robbed people. After hearing this news I had taken it upon myself to go to the police station to establish whether there are any police dockets linking my sons to criminal activities,” said Ntuli.
He said the incident had made him wary to go to the government mortuary to view the bodies of his sons.
“I just did not have the courage to go. I am weak. My (other) son had the burden of doing the identification,” said Ntuli.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesperson Lizzy Suping said the case has been registered and preliminary investigations have started.
TimesLIVE
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