Former national Under-23 coach David Notoane is saddened by the loss of Luke Fleurs, saying “We are on our own in South Africa and maybe we need to go back and drive bicycles to be safe.”  

Fleurs saw his life snatched away as he was shot dead while at the filling station on Wednesday night in Johannesburg.  

The 24-year-old was part of Notoane’s U-23 side that lost all three-group stage matches in the Olympic Games in Tokyo which was held a year later in 2021 due to the coronavirus that was declared as a pandemic.  

He started and finished all three matches as the U-23s came back with their tails between their legs. 

“I’m shocked because he was a very young, good lad,” Notoane told Sportswire. 

“Under the circumstances under which he lost his life, it saddening. Knowing Luke and reading through the news of how it happened, you almost can’t connect the two because he was a gentle soul, a very jovial guy, a very lovable guy.  

“I can imagine when you are that kind of person and something like that happens because you find yourself resisting without thinking, those are the thought processes that I went through. He probably couldn’t understand that he was being hijacked or what was going on knowing how generous Luke has been and his demeanor.”  

Fleurs, who was given his PSL debut at SuperSport United by coach Kaitano Tembo on 28 November 2018 against Bloemfontein Celtic, passed away without having played a single match for Kaizer Chiefs, who he joined late last year after leaving the Pretoria giants.  

The defender was at the club when SuperSport won the MTN8 trophy in the 2019/20 season against Highlands Park, having lost to the same competition a season before.  

He was named the PSL Young Player of The Year in the 2021/22 season with Matsatsantsa.

“I was asking myself, ‘Did I maybe miss the game Luke was playing at Kaizer Chiefs or highlights whatsoever?’,” queried Notoane.  

“That made me sadder that he was on the verge of bigger things in his career and what a loss to Chiefs and his family. I can imagine the bigger loss when you signed for a bigger club like them and probably on a bigger contract, much-improved contract and long-term contract for that matter.”  

South Africa also lost a young Oshwin Andries of Stellenbosch early last year who was allegedly stabbed to death in Cape Town. Notoane said the country has become a non-safe place.  

“Our country, Robin, it is sad,” said Notoane. 

“You think back to Oshwin Andries died under violent circumstances, and you ask yourself what we must do because we are not protected.  

“I was joking to someone to say maybe one should leave the township and go work somewhere, to avoid these kinds of serious crimes. Now, we are on our own because of the senseless killing. Maybe we should go back to the times of driving bicycles.”