Police bomb abuser’s house
Family demands justice after cops shoot man dead and drop explosives on their home
A 50-year-old woman from Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, is angry after the police allegedly burnt down her house and killed her son.
Thandi Nhlapo struggled to fight back her tears as she told Sowetan about the night her son Vusi Nhlapo was killed, allegedly by police officers, over a protection order against him.
Police confirmed the killing and the burning of the house, but said Vusi was a suspect sought for three cases of attempted murder.
Nhlapo said officers shot her son after he refused to meet them outside his Orange Farm home two weeks ago.
She witnessed the shooting and looked on as her fourroomed house burnt.
“Two officers were at the door and they asked for Vusi. They said they would not leave without him and that there were more of them outside who were surrounding our house.
“They didn’t say why they were here and just demanded Vusi to come out,” she said.
Nhlapo said she was aware that her son’s girlfriend had applied for a protection order against him and that she signed for it when two police officers arrived at her house to serve him with it.
“We knew that there was a protection order against him, we could hear the commotion outside and wondered why there were a lot of police officers.
“We didn’t think they would shoot at the house. After they started shooting we heard a helicopter hovering above the house,” she said.
“They threw two explosives on the roof and the house caught fire. We want those who are responsible to be brought to book.”
When Sowetan visited the house in Orange Farm Extension 2 yesterday, there was no one inside the burnt and sootcovered house.
Police spokesman Captain Fikile Funda confirmed the incident but said Vusi opened fire at his girlfriend’s house on the day he discovered that she had applied for a protection order against him.
“Police officers went to his house to arrest him for that incident of attempted murder.
“The suspect allegedly opened fire at the police, who were there to arrest him.”
Vusi allegedly opened fire on the police when they returned to the house for the second time at about 9pm
He was with his mother and uncle when the house was allegedly burnt by the police. His mother and uncle managed to escape unharmed.
“He came out and fired at police officers before they could explain what they wanted of him,” Funda said.
“We can only confirm the incident, but we cannot divulge anything else because the matter is being handled by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).”
Ipid spokesperson Moses Dlamini confirmed the matter was being investigated