At 4am on Monday January 16, two men kicked down the door of a home in Masiphumelele and fired shots into the darkness.
Sbu Brown, who is known in the community as an anti-drug activist, was shot in the ankle and buttock.
Incredibly, the bullets missed his girlfriend Nolubabalo Mazola, and her one-year-old son, who was sleeping on the bed with the couple.
Ms Majola has been living in terror since the incident, as she believes that the gunmen may come back to finish the job and she cannot be sure she or her son will be as lucky next time.
She told False Bay Echo and said she was afraid for them all if he survived.
“We didn’t see who it was – it was so dark still. But now people are saying we know who it is that shot at us. We don’t know. We couldn’t see. Sbu was sleeping, but when I heard the door being kicked, I sat up – I think that is why I was not shot,” she said.
As terrified as she was, Ms Majola was equally incensed at the lack of response from SAPS.
“I went to them on Monday and said they must come see. They said yes but they never came. So Wednesday after I saw Sbu in hospital I went there again and shouted at them about why they haven’t come to see me,” she said.
She said they had called each day but not been there in person.
When the False Bay Echo called Ms Majola on Friday January 20, to follow up on the situation, she said that the police had finally come to take photos of the crime scene – five full days after the event.
Fish Hoek resident Rosemary Milbank who is a friend of Mr Brown, said on Thursday SAPS called her (Ms Majola) to say they would be visiting the next day and that they had not been able to during the week, because their photographer was on leave.
“Anger in the community is building up again – they feel that, once again SAPS has let them down,” Ms Milbank said.
Ms Milbank said she saw Mr Brown twice and that he was very badly wounded. “The last I heard he was in a very serious condition,” she said.
“His girlfriend is severely traumatised and has had no help. Friends and family of Sbu and the community are becoming enraged – heaven help us if the situation explodes again,” she said.
It took three days and numerous emails, phone calls and an SMS to get a response from SAPS.
Station commander at Ocean View, Lieutenant Colonel Errol Merkeur, eventually responded and stated that the complaint about Mr Brown’s shooting had been filed on Monday January 16 and that SAPS had attended immediate-
ly.
He said a detective visited the victim in hospital but that he had been in too much pain to speak or give a statement.
Lieutenant Colonel Merkeur did not explain why it took five days to send a crime photographer to the scene of the crime, or if, five days later, there would be any point to that.
He said: “The case is under investigation and all shooting incidents are prioritised for investigation to bring the perpetrators to book,” adding, “the community must inform SAPS about illegal drug outlets to obtain search warrants to do raids on such illegal drug premises.”
He said: “This office can’t confirm that Ocean View and Masi are linked to gangs as no gang violence has been reported in Masi.”
“Only Ocean View can be confirmed as a gang hotspot,” Lieutenant Colonel Merkeur said.
He added that police visibility in the area increased as his sta-
tion has just received 15 new constables.
