Protests planned as bodies pile up amid Westbury gun violence

Westbury residents are mourning the death of a well-loved and influential member of the community who was gunned down as they gear up for a protest over the spate of killings.

Faizel McKenzie was killed at his pharmacy in Newclare on Monday afternoon. His death comes two weeks after another well-known activist was killed in the area.

Police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said the incident occurred at about 3.30pm. 

“It is alleged that the victim was in his pharmacy with his three employees when three unknown males wearing balaclavas entered the pharmacy and went straight to the pharmacist and started shooting at him.

“The suspects then fled. The victim was certified dead on the scene,” he said.

The motive for the shooting is still under investigation and police have opened a murder case. No arrests have been made.

A relative of McKenzie, who did not want to be named, opened up on the devastation and pain of losing “Faya” as he was affectionately known.

He said he was alerted to the incident while in another area and when he arrived in Newclare, found the scene “full of people”.

“I heard that four guys came into the pharmacy and went straight for him. They [apparently] pretended to buy something and then went for him,” he said.

He said it was difficult to comprehend the motive as McKenzie was a “great guy” who had no ties to gangsterism. He was dedicated to his pharmacy, where he had worked from his youth until he took over from his father. 

“I can't think of any reason this happened but you know, in life, you don't look for the whys,” he said.

The relative said “Faya” was well known and a mainstay not only in Westbury but also in Coronationville, Newclare and Florida where he played a “big role”.

This translated to the family, he said, as the relative described how McKenzie was “just Faya” to them and “always there for anyone who needed him”.

On what he'll miss the most about McKenzie, he said: “Just him in general. Sometimes in life you can't always pinpoint one thing about the person that you liked. At the end of the day, it's that person [as a whole]”.

McKenzie was buried on Tuesday and leaves a wife and two sons. Also weighing in was a community leader who lamented the unabated killings, despite the announcement of the deployment of an additional 200 officers to crime-ridden “coloured” areas. 

On March 12, police top brass, led by deputy national commissioners Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili and Lt-Gen Shadrack Sibiya, announced the deployment of additional resources to Westbury, Eldorado Park, Newclare, Claremont, Riverlea and Noordgesig. 

It remains unclear how many officers each area will get, what their role will be, or how long the deployment will last, as police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe did not respond to queries on this.

“For this past week, we've had so many fatal shootings and nothing has been done. We had a meeting with the [deputy national] commissioner at the police station and they promised that the shootings will end.

“However, they also gave us some guidelines on what they want us to do, but at this moment, for us to do what they are requesting is very dangerous for an activist like myself. I'm in hiding as they're also [plotting] to kill me,” he said.

He questioned the impact the officers would have, given that they will have to be distributed across many communities. 

He confirmed Thursday's protest march to Sophiatown police station amid the spate of killings. 

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