An Eastern Cape family whose 25-year-old son was shot dead by police officers in February say nothing has been done about the five officers allegedly involved in the incident.
The Dyantyi family from Ngqeleni near Mthatha said on Friday they had been left with more questions than answers about the death of their son Lulamela Mxaka, an agriculture graduate and emerging farmer, in what was believed to have been a case of mistaken identity.
This case is one of the almost 4,500 reported to the police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), against Eastern Cape police in the past five years.
Mxaka was shot dead at Qhokama village in Ngqeleni on February 6 while driving a white Toyota Fortuner with his mother and six other relatives, all women and children.
They were on their way home in the dark from a funeral in a nearby village when police allegedly ambushed them and left Mxaka dead at the scene.
It is alleged that the vehicle the family was travelling in was mistaken for a similar vehicle involved in a robbery at Mqanduli earlier that day.
Even though the family claims that Ipid told them this was a case of mistaken identity, they are angry that none of the five officers have been held accountable.
Mxaka’s father, Mthobeli Dyantyi, said on Friday his family were still in the dark as to why their son had lost his life, in front of his family members.
“We are still 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.
“We will not rest until justice is done for my son and the police officers who killed him are brought to book.
“Even though Ipid has informed us it has identified the alleged culprits, we remain frustrated by the slow pace in the investigations.
“We were told by Ipid that the case had been changed from culpable homicide to murder, but we are still waiting for answers.”
In November, 18-year-old matric pupil Chulumanco Magadla was shot dead by police who raided the Northcrest, Mthatha, boarding house where he was in a group study session for his final exams.
Upon arrival, “the occupants of the house allegedly ran away and police allegedly fired shots,” Ipid said.
Chulumanco’s body was found in a pool of blood by his friends after police had left the scene.
The police claimed they had been responding to a complaint about a party, with some residents suggesting it had been at a similar house a few streets away.
In response to written parliamentary questions posed by DA MPL Yusuf Cassim recently, the province’s community safety MEC, Xolile Nqatha, confirmed that 4,466 complaints had been reported to Ipid between 2020/21 and the current financial year.
They were part of the almost 15,000 cases (14,907 currently) outstanding for investigation against police by Ipid across the country.
These include serious allegations ranging from deaths in police custody to rape, murder, corruption, torture and discharge of an official firearm.
Nationwide figures include:
- 1,486 deaths as a result of police action;
- 2,312 cases involving the discharge of an official firearm;
- 1,020 allegations of torture;
- 9,306 assault complaints;
- 193 corruption cases; and
- 97 cases of rape by a police officer.
Cassim said some of the delays in investigating these cases were due to capacity constraints as Ipid had just one operational office in the province, instead of the seven that are supposed to be operational.
Nqatha’s report said the province should have Ipid offices in East London, Gqeberha, Mthatha, Komani, Port St Johns, Matatiele and Maletswai (Aliwal North), but only the East London office was operational.
He said there were 26 staff members at the East London office, and this was “barely enough to handle the wave of complaints received every year”.
“Backlogs continue to grow, while many complaints from previous years remain unresolved,” said Cassim.
“The MEC’s report tells a story of a system buckling under its own weight, unable to keep pace as complaints continue to mount and new backlogs are carried forward from one year to the next.
“Ipid remains under-resourced, understaffed and lacking the investigative capacity to fulfil its constitutional mandate.”
Regarding Mxaka’s death, Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Suping said on Friday its investigations were ongoing and “there is a statement pending from one of the witnesses who is still undergoing counselling”.
“The Eastern Cape backlog is at 2,167, with 1,402 assault and 214 torture cases, 364 complaints of the discharge of an official firearm and 154 cases of death due to police action.
“In 2023/24, Ipid had 168 investigators in its employ countrywide, and thus each investigator had about 300 dockets.”
Regarding the concerns that Ipid drags its feet, Suping said: “It should be noted that Ipid prioritises all cases and our responsibility is to conduct impartial and independent investigations and ensure that we refer all dockets to the NPA for a decision to prosecute.”
Thumeka Gaya, the Bhisho legislature’s community safety portfolio committee chair and ANC MPL, said on Friday her committee was aware of the backlog.
Gaya said the committee preferred complaints to be dealt with speedily, “so those within the police service, found to have been involved in any wrongdoing, are quickly dealt with and if need be, removed completely from the service”.
She said her committee was concerned that “communities no longer trust police because of their alleged involvement in wrong activities”.
Earlier this month, the provincial government confirmed that 217 provincial police officers were being investigated for crimes including fraud, serious assault, reckless and negligent driving, malicious damage to property and helping criminals escape while in their custody.
Another 12, the province confirmed, had been convicted of serious charges including fraud, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, and aiding and abetting prisoners to escape.
In another report, Nqatha revealed that several of these police members remained in uniform.
Daily Dispatch
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