Residents of Tshifudi outside Thohoyandou were left stunned after an incensed man went berserk and started shooting wildly and randomly at patrons at the local Marubini Tavern shortly before midnight last Friday (1 September).
Not much detail around the incident was available at the time of our going to press, but information that filtered in revealed that the suspect, who is believed to be from Hadumasi, outside Thohoyandou, arrived at the tavern in a Toyota bakkie.
An eyewitness who spoke on condition of anonymity described the scene as something straight out of a Wild West movie. "I was at the tavern with friends, enjoying some cold beer and music, when we suddenly heard gunshots being fired. We could not figure out where the shots were fired from. There was a lot of commotion as revellers ran for cover. It seemed the suspect eventually ran short of ammunition as he fled the scene on foot, leaving his bakkie there. I have never been that scared."
According to this witness, some of the patrons were wounded during the gunfire. "Revellers chased after the man, but he managed to escape and, out of frustration, the group vented their anger on the suspect's bakkie, torching it to ashes," he said.
Vhembe SAPS acting spokesperson Sgt Vuledzani Dathi confirmed the incident, saying that they had opened two counts of attempted murder after the incident. A suspect, Thabelo Aubrey Matshona (26), has since been arrested and appeared in the Tshaulu Periodical Court on Monday, 4 September. His case was postponed to 12 September for further investigations. He remains in custody.
The incident was strongly condemned by a local community leader, Mr Rudzani Tshipepele, who expressed his shock over the event. "We are no longer safe here. Just imagine people enjoying themselves and coming under a hail of bullets without a warning. We are just happy that there were no fatalities. We have to sit down as a community and come up with ways to prevent something like this from ever happening again," he said.
The local traditional leader, Vhamusanda Vho-Collen Mashau, also expressed his dismay over what had happened at the tavern. "We have never experienced this in our village. This is a big shock, but we are consoled by the fact that no one died, even though there were injuries. We are also happy that the suspect was arrested and might divulge the reasons behind this mad incident," he said.