Woman shot eight times after New Year’s party kiss

A DURBAN woman was shot eight times and killed by a man she kissed just after midnight on New Year’s Day.

The killing has left the woman’s family with many unanswered questions regarding the shooting at a street party.

Ntombifikile Xulu said her sister Fezile Ngema, 42, was celebrating the new year in uMlazi when she walked up to a man and kissed him to celebrate the arrival of 2020.

He allegedly then pulled out his gun and shot her eight times. She died at the scene.

Xulu had earlier told The Star’s sister newspaper, Isolezwe, that before the police arrested the man, who cannot be named as he has yet to appear in court, he told people at the scene that he had shot her accidentally.

Xulu said her sister and the man had been friends for several years.

“We are still confused by what happened,” she said.

Xulu described her sister as someone who was caring and who would help people whenever she could.

“She even used to lend people money and loved laughing and joking with people.”

Ngema’s four children, aged 20, 14, 10 and nine, were also left devastated.

Xulu said Ngema’s friends and family had been visiting to offer their condolences and support. She said they were still busy making funeral arrangements.

Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said a case of murder was being investigated by the Bhekithemba police station.

“It is alleged that on January 1, 2020, just after midnight, at AA section in uMlazi, a 42-year-old woman was fatally shot by a known suspect.

“She sustained a gunshot wound to the forehead and was declared dead at the scene.

“A 36-year-old suspect was placed under arrest for murder. He will appear in court soon,” Gwala said.

Javu Baloyi, the spokesperson for the Commission for Gender Equality, said he hoped high-profile cases such as the rape and murder of University of Cape Town student Uyinene Mrwetyana, who was killed by post office worker Luyanda Botha in Cape Town, would send a strong message about the consequences of violence against women. Botha received a triple-life sentence for his crime.

Baloyi said he also hoped 2020 would mark an end to gender-based violence. “The loss of one life is one too many,” he said.

Baloyi said men should learn not to respond with violence if they were angry, and that they should rather walk away from the situation or keep quiet.

He said the reason South Africa was a violent society was because many people had violent upbringings and expected the government to provide solutions for their problems. He said people should learn to find their own solutions to problems.

Baloyi said the commission’s Durban office would keep a close eye on the progress of the Ngema case.