Johannesburg – A Pietermaritzburg woman has detailed how her teenage nephew was killed during the July unrest.
Zuma Nguse was the first witness to testify at the Human Rights Commission’s investigative hearings in Durban.
The unrest in July left 354 dead and witnesses gave vivid accounts of how the violence spilt into homes and devastated families.
Nguse said business people in Durban, angry at the looting of their shops, set fire to shacks and shot at people in her community – including her nephew.
“People were trying to get to a place of safety because teargas fired by private security had been thrown into their homes,” she said to the commission.
“Sibahle wasn’t aware in (what) direction we ran and was looking for us. A man later told me Sibahle had been shot,” she said.
“When I got up to the area where he was last seen, I found his siblings holding him. I had never seen a person dying before — when I saw him, it looked like he was gasping for air.”
The hearings are expected to run until December 3.
Leave a Reply