A Soweto man witnessed his relative being gunned down while buying medication at a local pharmacy. Michael Dodge Mapaila, 65, was shot dead at Khanya Pharmacy in Dobsonville on Monday.

The diabetic Mapaila, who owns Dodge Inn, was accompanied by his nephew Themba Sepotokele to purchase medication for his condition. "We arrived at the pharmacy just before 5pm. We bought the medication but when we got to the car, he asked me to get more medicine and I went back.

"When I returned to the car he said he forgot some more pills. I asked him if we could go home first [and come back later] but he alighted the car and went back to the pharmacy," he said.

Sepotokele said he heard a loud bang a few minutes later.

"I thought children were playing with firecrackers. A boy then ran out of a nearby store saying a man had been shot.

"I jumped out of the car and ran to the pharmacy but found him (the uncle) lying on the floor. I checked his pulse but he was gone," he said.

Sepotokele said paramedics declared Mapaila dead on the scene.

Mapaila's relative Mmaserame Mokgophe said the pensioner took ill on Saturday. "He was very happy on that day. He gave people alcohol for free. He asked me to call a meeting for everyone in the family and I told him I would.

"His condition got worse on Sunday and he went to hospital where he got a script to buy medicine. He was a very loud and jolly person," she said.

Police spokesperson Constable Mzwakhe Xazi said four gunmen entered the store and ordered everyone to lie on the floor. "The deceased was shot during that process," Xazi said.

He said police were investigating a case of robbery and murder.

No arrests have been made.