GAUTENG co-operative governance MEC Lebogang Maile has called on an alleged killer to hand himself over to the police.
“He is a racist and an animal!” said MEC Lebogang Maile, describing the cop who allegedly shot and killed Pheta Molonyama (43).
Pheta is one of the four victims who died during the service delivery protest which erupted this week at Tembisa, Ekurhuleni.
Maile held a media briefing yesterday, 3 August, and visited Pheta’s family. He was joined by the Ekurhuleni mayor, Tania Campbell.
Maile said Pheta’s mother told him the same officer, who is attached to the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD), threatened to run over her with his car when she rushed out to see her fatally wounded son.
It is understood that Pheta, who was a welder, was working a few metres away from home when he was hit by a bullet.
Maile said: “We are told that he was shot by a white police officer who declared that he shot him.
“This makes me extremely angry because it is nothing less than a sheer act of racism.
“If the police officer did what we are told he did, he must be dealt with harshly,” said Maile.
He said while the Independent Police Investigative Directorate has been called to investigate, the EMPD should take action if they are able to identify the cop. Maile also called for the National Prosecuting Authority to ensure that justice is served.
He said: “We must deal with racists brutally, the way we dealt with the apartheid regime.”
The family of another victim, Eugene Tshabalala (52), said he was not part of the protest but was shot inside his yard.
Eugene’s sister, Luyanda Tshabalala, said her brother was home on a day off. Residents barricaded the roads into Tembisa and burnt property, protesting over high electricity tariffs.
Municipal offices and vehicles were also torched during the protest and two more people were reportedly killed while trying to bomb an ATM.
Campbell said she will report back on demands submitted on Friday.
Ekurhuleni community safety member of the mayoral committee, Letlhogonolo Moseki, said it can’t be ruled out that the protest was also politically motivated.
