The victims and family members of victims of the July tavern shootings in Nomzamo, Soweto say healing will not be possible without justice.
Mam' Mngonyama could not hold her tears when she explained the pain they are going through as a family. Mngonyama’s son and daugher’s boyfriend were among the 19 people who died after a group of armed men attacked a tavern in Nomzamo on July 9, 2022. Her daughter, whose boyfriend was murdered, was pregnant at the time. The tragedy caused her to go to an early labour.
Mngonyama said the arrests do not take away the pain of losing her son. Seeing the accused in court makes things even worse because they do not show any signs of remorse. “This is painful because these people are looking at us and laughing, it must be nice for them, that time we have lost our children,” said Mngonyama.
Mngonyama said healing is very difficult for them because they have a lot of unanswered questions, and the fact that the case has not concluded means that they still have a long way to go.
The accused appeared in Orlando Magistrate Court on Tuesday October 18, where their defence brought to court an application of their clients to get medical attention. They allege that they have been assaulted.
This is what pushed Mngonyama to the edge. She became emotional and burst in tears as she is strongly against the accused being attended to by doctors. “We do not want them to get medical attention, our children did not get a chance to be seen by doctors,” she said.
“I wish that these people could be hung to death, it would have been better if our children fought with them. But they never fought but had their brains blown out while they were happy and watching soccer,” said Mngonyama
Afika Sonzama, who was shot on his lower back and the bullet came through the front of the stomach, was enraged after seeing the suspects in court.
“These people say they are being assaulted, that is nothing compared to the pain they caused us and the scar that I have after the operation,” he said. He is hoping that the accused be sentenced to life imprisonments.
The case has been postponed to November 8 and the suspects are remanded they remain in prison.