‘Here We Go Again'

That’s what former Hawks spokesman McIntosh Polela thought when he heard of his father’s latest attack on his family

- Khatija Nxedlana

WHEN he heard his father had gone on a shooting spree and had shot his half brother in the face, he wasn’t really surprised. Shocked, yes – and upset. But not surprised. This was, after all, the man who’d killed his mother.

“Mr Nzimande” is how McIntosh Polela refers to his father.

“He’s a father only biologically, but that’s where it ends,” the former Hawks spokesperson says. He even changed his name because he wanted to distance himself from the man he describes in his memoir as “that monster”.

The news that his 65-year-old father had opened fire on his second wife, Thulisile, and their three children at their small holding in Lady smith in KwaZulu-Natal brought all the painful memories back.

His sister, Zinhle, called him to tell him what had happened.

“There was no time for emotions,” he says. “I was shocked – it’s not something that you expect. But I felt a deep sense of ‘here we go again’.”

He’s still struggling to process what happened. His 23-year-old half-brother, Senzekahle Nzimande, was shot in the face. Fortunately nobody else was hit.

The appalling incident is said to have been sparked by an argument over the ownership of farming equipment, with McIntosh’s father accusing family members of taking his property before he opened fire on them.

Community members came to the family’s rescue and restrained the 65-year-old until the police arrived. Senzekahle was rushed to hospital but has since been discharged and is receiving counselling together with his mother and brothers.

At the time of going to print the pensioner was due to appear in the Lady smith magistrate’s court on 1 March on a charge of attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.