A family in northern KwaZulu-Natal is grieving the loss of two of its men, shot dead at a traditional wedding in Nquthu.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that two men were killed and three women injured in the shooting, which happened shortly after 4pm.
It is understood that the wedding was that of a taxi owner, and that some of those killed were allegedly working as his bodyguards.
Netshiunda said a chase followed the shooting. Dundee police and private security personnel pursued a vehicle onto the R33 on the Vryheid road, where a man was held for questioning near De Jager’s Drift. He said an intensive investigation is under way.
At the family’s home, relatives described a house missing its people. “Things at home are very bad, because we are no longer complete,” one relative said. The family said the gunmen got into a car and fled after the shooting. They said they were hoping the person held by police would help reveal the truth. “Our only hope is here, but we are hurt,” the relative said.
Community leaders condemned the killings. One said it was a disgrace that joyful gatherings were being turned into scenes of murder, and urged people to “return to their conscience”. He appealed for disputes to be taken to a forum where traditional leaders, the induna and community leaders can talk, so that no more lives are lost.
