The family of the soldier who died in a hail of bullets outside Ngcobo police station last week has spoken out for the first time, saying Corporal Freddy Mbuzeni Mpandeni had crawled a few metres despite being shot four times at close range.
Mpandeni was a soldier based in East London, contrary to reports that the 56-year-old had retired.
His son, Ncedo, believes that when his father heard the gunshots in the early hours of Wednesday, his instincts kicked in and although unarmed went outside to investigate.
“It was not just a stray bullet that hit him. The shooters aimed to kill him and they ensured that he was dead. It was a terrible moment when I saw my father with bullet holes in crucial parts of his body.
“Two wounds were in the collarbone, one in the neck just near the jugular vein, and another on the left side of his chest, near the heart.
“All are from a 9mm and you can see that the shooter or shooters were not far from him, and that they ensured that they finished him off,” the grieving son said.
Ncedo said Mpandeni had been at his Ngcobo home, not far from the police station, on Tuesday evening.
His wife was at the family’s main home in Ngxogi village, not far from Nyanga village, where two policemen’s bodies had been dumped, and where the controversial Mancoba Seven Angels Ministries is located. This is where seven suspects were shot dead during a fierce gunfight with a police task team on Friday night.
“Hearing shots being fired, my father apparently went to check what was happening, but we don’t know what was on his mind at the time.
“Despite having four bullets pumped into his body, my father managed to crawl back towards his house, but he collapsed before he could enter the house.
“He was strong to carry himself that distance after he had been shot so many times,” said Ncedo, who is a security guard in Cape Town.
Ncedo said his father was everything to the family.
“He was a family man. I will always remember him not only as a father, but also as a friend, a mentor and an adviser.
“He was the person I referred to whenever the going got tough. He was the fountain of my strength, my everything. I am devastated by this loss. My heart is pierced with pain,” said Ncedo.
Like the families of the five police officers who were killed on the same day, Ncedo welcomed the police task team’s swift action in killing seven and arresting another 10 people at the Seven Angels hideout, after the massacre of their loved ones.
“Now I can begin to heal. The police have done a good job. We could not have asked for more.
“They paid the price for killing my father and the five policemen. We can now bury him knowing his killers were arrested if not killed,” said Ncedo.
There will be a memorial service at the Methodist Church in Ngcobo tomorrow for Mpandeni and the five officers.
Mpandeni joined the South African National Defence Force in 1996. He is survived by his wife and four children, aged between 22 and 36. He will be buried on Saturday at his Ngxogi village home. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
Family mourns brave soldier killed near police station
Mpandeni was a soldier based in East London, contrary to reports that the 56-year-old had retired.
His son, Ncedo, believes that when his father heard the gunshots in the early hours of Wednesday, his instincts kicked in and although unarmed went outside to investigate.
“It was not just a stray bullet that hit him. The shooters aimed to kill him and they ensured that he was dead. It was a terrible moment when I saw my father with bullet holes in crucial parts of his body.
“Two wounds were in the collarbone, one in the neck just near the jugular vein, and another on the left side of his chest, near the heart.
“All are from a 9mm and you can see that the shooter or shooters were not far from him, and that they ensured that they finished him off,” the grieving son said.
Ncedo said Mpandeni had been at his Ngcobo home, not far from the police station, on Tuesday evening.
His wife was at the family’s main home in Ngxogi village, not far from Nyanga village, where two policemen’s bodies had been dumped, and where the controversial Mancoba Seven Angels Ministries is located. This is where seven suspects were shot dead during a fierce gunfight with a police task team on Friday night.
“Hearing shots being fired, my father apparently went to check what was happening, but we don’t know what was on his mind at the time.
“Despite having four bullets pumped into his body, my father managed to crawl back towards his house, but he collapsed before he could enter the house.
“He was strong to carry himself that distance after he had been shot so many times,” said Ncedo, who is a security guard in Cape Town.
Ncedo said his father was everything to the family.
“He was a family man. I will always remember him not only as a father, but also as a friend, a mentor and an adviser.
“He was the person I referred to whenever the going got tough. He was the fountain of my strength, my everything. I am devastated by this loss. My heart is pierced with pain,” said Ncedo.
Like the families of the five police officers who were killed on the same day, Ncedo welcomed the police task team’s swift action in killing seven and arresting another 10 people at the Seven Angels hideout, after the massacre of their loved ones.
“Now I can begin to heal. The police have done a good job. We could not have asked for more.
“They paid the price for killing my father and the five policemen. We can now bury him knowing his killers were arrested if not killed,” said Ncedo.
There will be a memorial service at the Methodist Church in Ngcobo tomorrow for Mpandeni and the five officers.
Mpandeni joined the South African National Defence Force in 1996. He is survived by his wife and four children, aged between 22 and 36. He will be buried on Saturday at his Ngxogi village home. — lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
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