Mapula Sibanda
AN enraged husband gunned down his wife and her lover=20 in Sebokeng last Friday — and ignited a wave of=20 violence that left 15 people dead.
The explosive mayhem laid bare the mounting tensions=20 over control of Sebokeng’s five hostels among various=20 Xhosa clans and Basothos.
“I knew the man who died from the shooting. He used to=20 work with me at Iscor,” hostel committee member Ezekiel=20 Molefe said, referring to the deceased only as=20 “Augustinas”. “He had been keeping another man’s wife=20 in the hostel for some time, and the man finally=20 tracked them down and shot them last Friday night.”
He said hostel-dwellers had seen the killer alight from=20 a white Kombi and go into Augustina’s room. Shots were=20 heard and the killer sped off. The woman survived but=20 Augustina — a Basotho — did not.
According to Molefe, rumours then spread implicating=20 Xhosas for the shootings, which led to the faction=20 fight between Xhosa and Basothos.
When I visited Sebokeng this week, the tensions=20 between the various groups were tangible. Residents=20 were migrating from one hostel to another, seeking=20 security among their own clans and dividing the huge=20 hostel complex into clear tribal zones.
Xhosa residents claim they “were being killed” by the=20 AmaBhacas (a Xhosa clan) who, they said, were trying to=20 evict them from hostels three and four. The Basothos in=20 hostel one, who were busy packing their belongings,=20 blamed the Xhosas for the violence and said they were=20 being forced to relocate to hostel three to live with=20 the AmaMpondos (another Xhosa clan) and Amabhacas, as=20 the “dominating Xhosas wanted to rule the hostel”.