QUMBU, Eastern Cape – The African National Congress (ANC) in the Eastern Cape has identified the victim of a Qumbu pharmacy shooting as Branch Executive Committee member and elections team coordinator Wonele Gontshi.
Gontshi was a Branch Executive Committee (BEC) member of the General Maqutyana Branch (Ward 14) and Branch Elections Team Coordinator.
Gontshi was shot as he arrived at the pharmacy in the Sejoseng Business Centre on Saturday, 13 June.
He was accompanied by Ngawonke Bulala, the Elections Manager of the Mhlontlo Local Elections Team, who survived the attack but sustained serious injuries and remains in hospital, the party said.
In a statement, the ANC O.R. Tambo Regional Executive Committee said it had received the news of the shooting “with profound shock, sadness and outrage”.
The statement described the incident as a “barbaric and cowardly act” that claimed the life of Gontshi and left two others injured.
“The African National Congress in the O.R. Tambo Region has received with profound shock, sadness and outrage the tragic news of the brutal shooting of three young people in Qumbu, Mhlontlo Sub-Region,” the statement read.
The ANC said the attack “constitutes an attack on the values of human dignity, peace and social cohesion upon which our democratic society is founded”.
It described Gontshi as a committed activist who played an important role in organisational structures in the Mhlontlo sub-region.
“The untimely death of Comrade Wonele Gontshi has robbed the movement and the people of a committed activist who dedicated his energies towards organisational work, community mobilisation and the advancement of the objectives of the African National Congress,” the statement added.
The party extended condolences to the Gontshi family and wished the injured survivors a full recovery.
As previously reported, police officers responded to the incident at about 11:20 after reports of an active shooting at the pharmacy.
In a statement, police said: “Upon arrival, officers found a 26-year-old man lying deceased behind the counter. Two other individuals survived the attack; one sustained injuries to the lower body and was taken to a medical facility, while the other was physically unharmed.”
Police said the victims had allegedly arrived at the pharmacy to purchase masks when the shooting occurred.
“As they attempted to enter, gunfire erupted. The victims took cover inside and the shooting continued for some time before the suspect(s) fled. Nothing was taken from the victims or the pharmacy,” police said.
Forensic teams recovered multiple rifle cartridges, projectiles and sealed bullets from the scene. The motive remains unknown and no arrests have been made.
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