Days after she came out of hiding, after witnessing her boyfriend’s murder in 2018, Marina Ntamo was gunned down in a suspected hit in New Brighton on Tuesday.
She had gone into hiding at the St John’s Church in NU5 Motherwell after seeing Xolani Mbejeni, 48, executed in his house in Vukani Street, Kwazakhele, in October.
Ntamo, 37, was also shot in the head, body and arm at the time but survived and managed to crawl to the roadside, where police found her.
She spent weeks recovering in hospital and, on her discharge, went into hiding at the church.
Police spokesperson Captain Andre Beetge said Mbejeni, 48, had been killed in a suspected hit just before midnight on October 13.
Police sources suspect Ntamo was murdered on Tuesday night because she was a state witness in the case.
She had just gone back to her family home in New Brighton last week – and was gunned down in Tshangana Street at about 8.20pm.
A police official linked to the investigation said that a few weeks after Mbejeni’s murder, a man thought to be the shooter had been arrested and then released on bail later.
“It appears that the case of attempted murder and the murder of Mbejeni were withdrawn by the courts last week,” he said.
“It is suspected that this is when Ntamo decided to come out of hiding and return to New Brighton.”
Beetge said it was possible that the two murders were linked.
He said the motive for Mbejeni’s murder was still unknown.
With regard to Ntamo’s murder, Beetge said: “We are not willing to speculate on the motive for Ntamo’s murder at this stage.
“But I can confirm that it does look like a pre-arranged murder.”
Bullet casings were found alongside the road close to Ntamo’s body and nothing appeared to have been stolen.
“We do not know how many suspects were involved,” Beetge said.
Family and friends gathered at Ntamo’s home on Wednesday morning.
They sat in the living room chopping carrots and potatoes.
They said they had not formally identified Ntamo’s body yet and were trying to find her ID book for the police.
Asked if they knew that the case related to the October shooting had been withdrawn, the family members were shocked.
One woman said they were still waiting for the police to update them.
At the crime scene, sand had been poured over pools of blood on the pavement.
Looking at the murder site from her kitchen door, a woman – who did not want to be named – described Ntamo as a “people’s person”.
“She got on with people and I can’t really say why she got shot. But this was the second time,” she said.
“The first time it happened she was with her boyfriend and he died but she lived.”
The woman said Generations the Legacy was on TV when they heard seven shots fired outside.
“We ducked inside the house and waited until things calmed down.
“Eventually, my family and I went outside and saw her [Ntamo’s] body.
“It’s difficult living in New Brighton as you can [see], this is what is happening to us.
“We’re being killed everywhere you go.” The woman said Ntamo had been walking with two friends when she was fatally shot.
Another woman, who lives close by, said she had locked herself in her house when she heard the shots.
“I locked my doors and stayed inside.
“She [Ntamo] was a very nice person. She just came back this month.”
At the St John’s Church, a woman – who refused to be named – said she felt ashamed that she could no longer help Ntamo after having heard the story about how she had ended up at the church.
“I feel ashamed, because I listened to her stories, and the shooting was not nice.
“I last saw her in December because we all went to visit our families for Christmas.
“She was excited about going back home but she was also scared because of what had happened to her.”
She said Ntamo had gone to stay with her brother in Chatty first, before going back to New Brighton.
Asked how the church had helped Ntamo, she said they were “healing her”.
A man, who also did not want to be named, said he had never questioned Ntamo’s presence at the church.
“I didn’t know her reasons for being here, but her family are also part of the church. “She felt safe being here. “She slept here and attended church like everyone else.”