An Eastern Cape family is demanding answers from police minister Senzo Mchunu after police were accused of shooting dead a young relative of theirs.
They want the immediate arrest of the police officer/s involved in the shooting, which was reported as a result of mistaken identity.
Lulamela Mxaka, 25, an agricultural graduate and emerging farmer, will be buried at Mamolweni village in Ngqeleni on Saturday.
He was shot dead at nearby Qhokama village in Ngqeleni on Thursday while driving a white Toyota Fortuner with his mother and six other relatives, all women and children.
The family is angry that no officers have been arrested for the shooting, though they claim the on-duty police officers have been identified.
They have accused the police of “murder and police brutality which has nothing to do with law”.
Mxaka’s mother, Nomveliso Mxaka-Dyantyi, 47, said they were expecting arrests soon. “We will bury him with heavy hearts as the officers roam the streets, continuing with their duties as police officers while they have my son’s blood on their hands.
“Police officers must not be allowed to kill willy-nilly.“We cannot accept police brutality in a democratic state.
“I know nothing will bring back my son, but we will not rest until justice is done for my son and the police officers who shot him dead are brought to book.”
The spokesperson for police watchdog Ipid, Phaladi Shuping, acknowledged that a case was being investigated as a “death as a result of police action”.
“It is alleged that [a man] was travelling with seven of his family members from a funeral at Mamolweni location in Ngqeleni in a white Toyota Fortuner on a gravel road near Qhokama location, also in Ngqeleni, when they were shot at, allegedly by SAPS members.”
The driver, the only person hit, died at the scene.
“It is alleged that the deceased’s vehicle was mistaken by SAPS members for a similar vehicle that was involved in a robbery at Mqanduli earlier the same day.”
Mxaka-Dyantyi said the officers’ behaviour was “appalling and bullying”.
“While I stopped them and asked them to assist us and not let Lulamela die, asking them to call an ambulance or rush him to the closest hospital, they just brushed me off, shouting at us and sped off.”
She said there were five police officers, including a policewoman.
“They left a woman in distress, with a dying son, and with children, on a thick foggy night in the middle of nowhere.
“Whatever they have done as police officers they could have stayed on the scene to ensure our safety and wait for other police officers to arrive. They showed that they never cared.”
Mxaka-Dyantyi said her son was killed just as he was about to get out of the vehicle.
“His window was wound down as he was talking to the police officer, who had ordered him to stop.
“My son was about to stop and get out of the vehicle when police officers shot him right behind the ear,” she alleged.
“It was by God’s grace that none of us other than him were injured. The vehicle crashed into the trees on the gum tree plantation.
“Everything happened so fast, I thought we were all going to die as the police kept on shooting,” she alleged. “My son died in my arms.”
Daily Dispatch
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