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Actor's family shocked, puzzled
18/10/2007 14:07 - (SA)
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| Patrick "Kid" Mokoena, in his role as taxi driver, Thulasizwe, on the SABC1 series Soul City. (Photo supplied) |
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Verashni Pillay
Johannesburg - Family and friends of the late Patrick "Kid" Mokoena are still reeling after the actor was killed in a Johannesburg bar at the weekend.
"We are all puzzled and shocked," Brian Mokoena told News24 on Thursday, after his nephew was gunned down in what looked like a targeted hit.
Patrick Mokoena, 46, was killed in the early hours of Sunday morning.
"He was a kind person," said Brian, who worked with Patrick as the marketing manager at his record label, Why Not Entertainment.
"I never saw someone who could associate with any ordinary man on the street and then two minutes later you'd see him rubbing shoulders with the so called who's who in the business world and entertainment industry."
A phone call
According to Brian, Patrick had received a phone call asking him to meet someone at the Why Not Bar in Jeppe.
Police spokesperson, Sefako Xaba said four armed men walked into the bar and shot Patrick four times, killing him instantly. One of the men jumped over the counter and took an undisclosed amount of money from the till.
The men fled the bar and police have yet to make any arrests.
Nobody else was hurt or shot at during the shooting. "It looks like they targeted only him," said Xaba.
Brian said he didn't know anyone who'd want to kill Patrick. He dismissed rumours of taxi violence, given that Patrick owned 14 taxis. "Patrick was no longer involved in the day-to-day running of his taxi operations," said Brian. "He had hired a manager. He was concentrating his time on developing and building an entertainment company."
Patrick had four children from two different marriages, according to Brian, and the 14 taxi drivers he hired were the main bread winners in their families.
"All these people who were dependent on him have lost someone who was a provider, someone who was a business entrepreneur," said Brian.
His second wife is expecting a third child in December.
The Soul City actor grew up washing cars and taxis in his hometown near Nelspruit. "He graduated to being a taxi driver," said Brian. "Then he saved some money and bought a vehicle and one thing lead to another."
His funeral will be held on 27 October in his hometown of Bushbuckridge.
Police have opened a murder investigation docket.
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