IT'S been almost a year since a Soweto doctor was shot and killed in his surgery and his brother has lost all hope in the case.
But community members have vowed to continue to fight for justice for Dr George Koboka (56), who operated in Diepkloof,.
He was killed by four gunmen who allegedly went straight to his office and shot him dead.
One suspect has since been arrested for murder.
However, George's brother, Thami, told Daily Sun he has given up on the case.
He claimed the leaking of information has made it easy for cases to be jeopardised, or even derailed.
“I have lost all the confidence in the justice system. My brother was murdered on a Friday and on Saturday morning, the statement I had written and the the footage of the incident was released on social media.
“The way information is captured and easily released through the media makes it easier for suspects to be acquitted from a case or even witnesses to be discredited,” said Thami.
He added:
But the community of Soweto is not giving up that easily and will continue to fight.
Ward 26 Councillor Sthembiso Mashinini, is worried by the pace at which the case has been going.
“Right now it is a cold case and nothing has been done. We have given the police enough time and had faith in the justice system, but we are now witnessing high profile cases like George's, where there is evidence of the shooting, but no one is held accountable,” said Mashinini.
He said the community would continue to put pressure on the case, though an awareness campaign called #HandsOffOurDoctors.
According to Mashinini, the campaign which will be held on Saturday, 1 April would be a call for justice for Dr George while shedding the light on the many alleged attacks on doctors in the community.
“Every doctor in Soweto has become a target of theft and robbery which has been going on for a while. We are seeing doctors in Soweto move out because they are being robbed and others killed like Dr George.
“We want to protect these surgeries in the community because they are our pride. If we let them go, we will be forced to go back to the clinics and queue in lengthy lines which we have avoided,” said Mashinini.
