“Kind-Hearted Mashonisa Shot Dead in Cold Blood!”

ABOMASHONISA are the most hated people ekasi.

Mere mention of mashonisa can send someone into hiding.

But Sabata Motaung was different.

Instead of being hated, he’s celebrated by his neighbours and clients.

Sadly, Sabata was shot dead on Monday night, 2 June by unknown men.

When Daily Sun visited his neighbourhood, most couldn’t stop lamenting how they lost their saviour.

They said Sabata was a life saver as they used to turn to him in times of need.

“He used to help us a lot and didn’t demand too much interest. We used to flock to him as we knew he was not going to disappoint us,” said gogo Sara Mlambo.

This resulted in Sabata having a large number of clients.

His cousin, Thapelo Moletsane, said this used to make other mashonisas jealous.

“We suspect rival mashonisas were not happy Sabata had many customers. His interest was also not crazy,” he said.

Thapelo said all they want is justice for his cousin.

“His car was sprayed with 17 bullet holes. The killers ensured he was dead by the time they left,” said Thapelo.

“Sabata used to care for his clients and was not greedy. He believed in not taking all the clients. He took a little and left us with something to survive on,” said another gogo, Nomcibelo Langa.

“Since his death, his family is releasing identity documents and Sassa cards back to their owners.

“The person they have been dealing with is Sabata and we are not involved. It would be unfair to keep their documents,” said Thapelo.

Captain Nelda Sekgobela, spokeswoman for the Ekurhuleni District Police said they are investigating a murder case.

Sabata’s killers are still at large.