Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Caught in crossfire of taxi shootings
Pupil shot in the thigh
THE HOPES and dreams of 17- year- old Bandile Qeru to become the next Lionel Messi were nearly shattered when he was caught up in a bloody feud between taxi owners in Langa.
According to witnesses, a man in a red cap “had been at the taxi rank for some time before he opened fire. He hopped on and off taxis while on the phone for some time before he started shooting. It sounded like thunder. There were too many shots fired”.
Bandile, a Grade 10 pupil at Rhodes High School, was waiting in the line for a taxi to school on Thursday morning when a man in a red cap and backpack suddenly opened fire, killing two and injuring nine people.
Bandile was hit in the right thigh. “I heard gunshots, people screaming and I started running, I did not know where I was going but I had to find a safe place,” he said.
While he ran almost 300m to safety, Bandile had no idea he had been hit.
“Someone shouted that I had been shot in the leg then I ran into the gas store, that is when I saw that my school pants were full of blood. I cried for help and the owner came to my rescue, then he called my mother,” said the shocked teenager.
His mother, a teacher at a primary school about 600m away from the taxi rank, said: “When I heard he had been shot, I went numb, my initial thoughts were that he was dead because when you hear that someone has been shot, you think they are dead.
“I rushed to the taxi rank and it was chaos, there were dead bodies and injured people everywhere. But I could not find my child; then I started freaking out.”
Qeru was fortunate to see a familiar face who told her where to find Bandile, but when she got to the gas store, he had already been taken to the Vanguard Day Hospital.
“The whole ordeal was so surreal; I knew my son was hurt, but I could not get to him. When I got to the hospital, they told me I could not see him because he was in the trauma unit. How can a parent be refused entry when their child is injured and in hospital? It is disgusting and I am appalled at the bad service at the hospital,” said Qeru.
Bandile plays central midfield for the Langa Football Club, but because of his injury he has to “sit on the bench, I don’t know for how long but at least the doctor said I would be fine soon”, he said.
However, 39- year- old Themba Ningiza was not as fortunate. The father of three is his family’s breadwinner and works at a veterinary clinic in Rondebosch. He was shot three times, in the arm, leg and waist.
“His leg was shattered, to the point where it will have to be amputated from the knee. He is such a sweet and humble person, the saddest thing is that he was just getting over the heartache of losing his job because the vet he works at is closing down soon, and now this,” said his neighbour, who did not wish to be named.
The feud over the lucrative Langa-Athlone taxi route is believed to be the root cause behind the shooting. According to a source at the taxi rank, “This began two weeks ago, when some members of the route ( Athlone) brought in 10 outsiders to be part of the route. This then led to bad blood between the taxi owners as the Athlone route makes a lot of money so now to have people coming from places like the Eastern Cape to steal the wealth is a problem.”
Four people have died as a result of the infighting within the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association over this route over two weeks.
According to police spokesperson Lieutenant- Colonel Andrè Traut a 51-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the shootings.
Traut also confirmed that the suspect would appear at the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on Monday and that police were “not ruling out the possibility of more arrests”.
asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za