An IFP councillor who was attacked at the weekend narrowly escaped death when a group of gun-wielding men opened fire at his hostel
|||Durban - An IFP councillor who was attacked at the weekend narrowly escaped death on Tuesday when a group of gun-wielding men opened fire at the KwaMashu hostel.
Sakhi Ngcamu’s friend, who cannot be named at this stage, was killed and another man was injured in the attack.
Ngcamu said he was bathing at about 9am this morning when he heard shots being fired outside the room. A still shaken Ngcamu said this morning his friend was an IFP supporter.
“I’m fine, but I’m scared. I’m really scared,” he said.
“My friends were sitting outside when I heard shots. I didn’t know what to do, so I called the police and one of our caucus leaders, Mdu Nkosi,” Ngcamu said.
Nkosi, who was driving to the scene, said he could not hear Ngcamu but heard the gunshots in the background.
“The shots were loud... all I could hear was him saying ‘help, we’re being attacked’,” Nkosi said.
Police spokesman, Captain Thulani Zwane, confirmed the incident. He said a case of murder and attempted murder had been opened. “One person died and another was critically injured,” he said.
Zwane said police had been deployed in the area to monitor the situation.
In the attack on Sunday, Ngcamu, an IFP councillor elected two months ago to replace his murdered colleague, spoke to the Daily News about a hit on his life the previous day.
Ngcamu, councillor for KwaMashu’s notorious A-Section hostel, where he lives, was attacked by a group of men who opened fire on him and his three friends. He said he had been getting ready to sleep when he heard noise and movement outside.
“My three friends, who are also party members, were already sleeping when I heard the noise,” he said.
Ngcamu said he went to the dining room to investigate, and looked through a window. He said he saw a group of armed men walking towards his unit.
“I locked eyes with one of the suspects, who wasn’t wearing a balaclava, and he started firing in my direction.”
Ngcamu said he woke up his friends before running to the local police station. He was not injured, but one of his friends was shot in the arm.
“Nothing was stolen from the apartment, and the suspects seemed so brazen,” he said. “Their faces weren’t covered, and it was clear that they were there to kill me.”
Ngcamu was elected in a by-election in December after the kidnapping and murder of the previous councillor, Themba Xulu.
Xulu was kidnapped in October by five men who had claimed to be policemen from Pinetown. His body was found two days later at a tea estate in Inanda by passers-by. He had been shot several times.
nondumiso.mbuyazi@inl.co.za
Daily News