One of the owners of SG Bakery, who were hijacked and shot while doing deliveries in Umlazi F section in Durban on Wednesday morning, is recovering in hospital while his partner has been left traumatised. 

The incident took place at about 10am when partners Mbonisi Gumede and Siyanda Shabane were delivering baked goods to a shop.

The business was started four years ago after Shabane spent six months at home applying for jobs after graduating. Failing to secure one, he and his friend, Gumede, started watching baking tutorials and started their business. 

They first started baking inside the house in Umlazi before building a shack.

In 2021, Hollywoodbets presented the bakery with a brand new operating facility. In April, they were presented with a bakkie to make deliveries.  

“Every morning they do deliveries around the township, and on the day, they saw three men who kept walking around their bakkie. The three men went away but hid around a corner, waiting for my brother and his partner to leave. As they drove, the men opened fire at them. They managed to get away and the three men took the car,” said Shabane's relative Nokuthula Mnguni.

Mnguni said as Shabane was running away, he turned back after realising that Gumede had been shot and was lying in the road. 

She said community members gave Shabane a phone to call for help. 

“When I got to the scene, Mbonisi was injured and I took him to the hospital. We contacted the tracker and managed to trace the car. They stripped the radio and battery and took a spare tyre. The doctors said that one of the bones in Mbonisi's leg was damaged by a bullet and they might have to do some operations to make sure that he can walk again. It’s bad.”

According to Mnguni the attackers were known in the area and there were witnesses to the incident.

Mnguni said while the incident left them in shock, business operations were continuing. 

Police did not respond to a request for comment.

TimesLIVE