Death stalked slain Metrorail security guard
Man stoned to death survived a shooting last year
A Metrorail employee who was stoned to death two days ago, was shot in the neck and lived to tell the tale last year.
Metrorail protection services official Joseph Koena was killed by a mob of service delivery protesters and commuters who accused him and a female colleague of shooting dead a 17year-old boy at Nancefield Station in Soweto.
Metrorail spokeswoman Lilian Mofokeng visited Koena’s family at his home in Tladi, Soweto, to convey her condolences yesterday.
“Last August, Joseph was shot in the neck during our operation called Itikiti Esandleni – which encouraged train commuters not to travel without tickets,” said Mofokeng.
Koena spend three weeks in hospital after the shooting incident.
“What hurts most is that this week’s protest action which led to Joseph being attacked did not have anything to do with Metrorail services but was related to housing.”
South African Transport and Allied Workers Union spokeswoman Zanele Sabela told Sowetan she was informed by one of Koena’s colleagues – who preferred to remain anonymous as she was in hospital and feared for her life – that the pair were patrolling the train station when they spotted a big pipe which had been placed on the railway line by the protesters.
“While they were removing the pipe, the two security personnel, who were not armed, heard gunshots. The protesters accused them of shooting a teenager and started attacking them with sticks and stones,” said Sabela.
Koena, 45, who started working for the parastatal in 2011, was his family’s breadwinner and leaves behind his wife Refiloe, 35, and three children aged five, seven, and 11 months. Koena’s brother Edward said the family was looking for answers.
“Our understanding is that Joseph was based at Johannesburg’s Park Station. We want to know why he was called in as a backup for the Nancefield security personnel.
“Why were there no SAPS and Johannesburg Metro police officers during the service delivery protest as is always the case?” asked Edward.
Police spokesman Captain Kay Makhubele confirmed that they were investigating a case of murder.