Husband shot at tavern; widow wins payout

The crowd tried to disarm the officer. He fired warning shots into the ground

POLICE will have to pay R637 000 to the widow of a security guard shot dead by police during a routine Easter weekend operation five years ago at a North West tavern.

Jane Mohapi of Ganyesa Village claimed more than R2 million from the police in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria for herself and her three children following the loss of her husband. Samuel Gabanakgosi was the breadwinner of the family.

The station commander of the Ganyesa police station allegedly killed Gabanakgosi when he fired at a crowd of people at the tavern.

The officer, however, said he fired warning shots into the ground and did not realise at the time that anyone was hit. He said he did not have a choice but to fire as the crowd was aggressive and pelted the police with bottles.

Police were conducting a routine crime prevention operation that Easter weekend.

The court was told that when the police got to the tavern late on the night of March 29, 2013, a large group of patrons stood outside outside, including Gabanakgosi.

The crowd shouted at them and surrounded their vehicle, while some of their colleagues were inside the tavern, which was about to close.

The police outside the tavern said they were pelted with bottles and stones while they remained inside the vehicle. The warned the group to stop as they were damaging the police vehicle.

One of the officers got out of the vehicle and asked the crowd to stop. He explained that they were only on a routine visit to the tavern, but the crowd would not listen to reason.

The officer said the crowd grabbed him by the clothes and tried to disarm him. He fired warning shots into the ground, after which he said the crowd backed off.

He said that early the next morning the tavern owner went to the police station and reported that there was a dead man outside his tavern. The police went back to the tavern and found Gabanakgosi.

The officer was adamant that he did not aim any shots at anybody, but had simply fired into the ground.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is still investigating the matter to decide on any criminal charges.

The widow, meanwhile, said in court papers her husband’s death is the direct result of the unlawful actions of the police.

She battled to feed her children without his salary and his funeral had cost the family a lot of money.

Lawyer Tim Vlok said the man worked as a security guard for Fidelity Security Group at the time of his death and he was the sole breadwinner of the family.

The police have agreed to pay the widow R636 712 as the final settlement of her claim. The settlement was made an order of court by Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba.