Kind Samaritan shot at while driving to help community

A good deed to donate groceries to a needy family in Ziphunzana nearly took a fatal turn for an East London businessman.

Pule Majeng, who owns a local funeral parlour in Duncan Village, was accosted by a gang of alleged criminals while making a delivery.

He said he had stopped at a traffic circle in Ziphunzana when they tried to open his door and drag him out of the vehicle.

“I tried to fight back and locked the doors immediately. I knew from the way they approached me they wanted to rob me,” said Majeng.

He said he pulled out a gun, not knowing that they were also carrying their own.

“My intentions were not to shoot them. I wanted to scare them off. Little did I know that they had two handguns,” he said.

“One of them ran away, and from a distance started shooting, but only my bakkie was hit a few times.”

He said he used his bakkie to deliver food he donates to struggling families in the area.

“As one of the business owners who operate in the area, I always make it a point to assist where I can when I see that a family is in need.”

Majeng said the area was a crime hotspot for muggings and that vehicle owners and schoolchildren were victims.

East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala confirmed that a case of attempted murder was opened.

She said no arrests had been made. — zikhonam@dispatch.co.za