They were still comforting their loved ones at a family member’s funeral when they heard the gunshots ring out.
They ran outside to see four suspects shoot round after round into the Mazda 323 where their 15-year-old daughter and her two cousins were sitting in the back seat, waiting to go home.
The teenager, Sibabalwe Kasibe, was the youngest to die in the hail of bullets.
Cousins Phunyezwa Krayi, 33, and Simangaliso Kraya, 19, also lost their lives.
The only person to survive the terror that unfolded outside the Mbeki Crescent, New Brighton, home where the funeral was held is in a serious condition at an undisclosed hospital.
The 35-year-old man, another relative who was in the front seat, was shot in the arm and leg.
On Monday, Sibabalwe’s 61-year-old father, Jim Kasibe, described the moments of Sunday afternoon that will torment him for the rest of his life.
“We heard the first shot and ran outside.
“Just as we came out of the house we saw the four men shooting at our car,” he said as tears welled in his eyes.
“I knew the kids were inside the car, they were waiting for us.
“But when we came closer, they [attackers] pointed their guns at us.
“We had no choice but to run back to the house. Later, we found our kids inside the car.”
The shooting took place shortly after 3pm.
Police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said a search had been launched for those responsible for the triple murder.
The motive for the killings is still unknown.
Speaking at a family member’s home in KwaNobuhle on Monday afternoon, Kasibe and his wife, Nontwazala, 52, said they had travelled from Qonce last week to attend her nephew’s funeral.
They had travelled to Nelson Mandela Bay in the same Mazda in which the youngsters’ lives would end so tragically.
“We were at the funeral from 8am [on Sunday].
“We went to the cemetery at around 11am and were back not long after that,” Kasibe said.
“All the formalities were over and most of the extended family had left already.
“We were just having some coffee inside the house.
“The kids had gone outside to sit in the car.”
As soon as the first gunshot rang out, all the relatives inside the house ran to the door to see what was happening.
As they got outside they heard more shots and Kasibe realised the shots were being fired at his car.
He ran for the gate, saying he was not sure what he intended to do once he got to the car, but was stopped in his tracks when the shooters suddenly pointed their guns at him.
“As we approached the wall, I saw them turn towards us.
“I can’t remember if they actually shot at us, but everyone immediately turned around and ran back towards the house.
“We sat inside the house and waited. It felt like ages.
“When we went back outside, the shooters were gone and I walked to the car.”
He said the scene before him was unimaginable. The car was torn apart.
On the back seat were three dead bodies, including the body of his teenage daughter.
In the front seat was another relative, moaning in pain and asking for help.
“My daughter was shot …,” his voice caught as he pointed behind his own ear, indicating where the bullet had fatally penetrated her head.
Seated next to him, his wife looked away and closed her eyes.
Another family member had called for an ambulance to take the survivor to a nearby hospital.
He received emergency treatment and by Monday afternoon was still in a serious but stable condition.
The man is not being identified for safety reasons.
“After seeing the car, we went back inside the house. We just cried.
“There was nothing else to do except cry,” Kasibe said.
The motive for the shooting is a mystery to the family.
“We can’t even begin to imagine why something like this happened.
“Why were they targeted, and why were they killed so violently? We have no clue,” Nontwazala said.
Asked about their daughter, Kasibe said she was a loving child who had done very well at school.
“She was our dream,” he said, his voice cracking.
The police have urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Captain Monde Sithole of the provincial organised crime investigation unit on 082-457-2812 or their nearest police station.
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