Magaqas say autopsy got it all wrong
The family of slain former ANC Youth League secretary general Sindiso Magaqa still believe that he did not die from gunshot wounds he sustained during an ambush in July, but was poisoned.
Magaqa‚ who was a councillor in Umzimkhulu‚ was shot along with fellow ANC councillors on July 13. Magaqa was recovering in hospital‚ but died later after complaining of stomach pains.
Despite an autopsy ruling out poison as the cause of death‚ his cousin Lwazi Magaqa yesterday told the Moerane Commission of Inquiry into the political killings in KwaZulu-Natal that they believed Magaqa was poisoned.
“We believe he was poisoned. Sindiso was shot on the lower body‚ more especially in the legs. At the time of his death he was about to start physiotherapy. It was a shock to the family he died because of stomach problems‚” he testified.
Lwazi‚ 50‚ repeated the same claims during an interview with the media after his testimony to the commission.
“Now it is complicated that someone who was shot in the legs can suffer from a stomach ache and die. It’s not his injuries that killed him. We suspect something.”
He said they had communicated their suspicions to the police and they were now pinning their hopes on the results from toxicology tests being done in Pretoria.
However‚ he told the commission that he had heard that results from Pretoria had been communicated to the family in December and had reached the same conclusion as those conducted at the Gale Street mortuary in Durban‚ which ruled out poison as the cause of Magaqa’s death.
He told the media that the family was also worried that the postmortem was conducted without any family member being present.
“What also worries us is that we were told that the postmortem would not be conducted on Sindiso’s body without a member of the family present, which I was part of,” he said.
He told the commission that the family has received very little feedback from the police.
“I remember well there are only two times we’ve been informed about the investigation.” Lwazi said the family believes that Magaqa was killed for exposing corruption in Umzimkhulu municipality.
Sindiso had submitted documents allegedly proving corruption in the tender for the upgrade of the Umzimkhulu Memorial Hall.
Contractors involved in the upgrade were paid before starting work‚ with the cost spiralling to R37-million.
The commission continues with hearings today.