Eldo’s death: ‘apartheid’ ammo link
Startling shotgun evidence in killing of Eldos teenager
● Police officers alleged to have murdered Down syndrome teen Nateniël Julies used apartheid-era ammunition — considered to be potentially lethal and inhumane — which was outlawed by the police 17 years ago.
The teen, who had only a packet of biscuits in his hands, was shot and killed near his home in Eldorado Park last week.
Julies’s death, and the furore that followed, raised the possibility that he was killed by a shotgun loaded with ammunition used by riot police during apartheid and prohibited for use during crowd control.
A Sunday Times investigation, using autopsy pictures, eyewitness testimony and expert analysis, reveals that the weapon used to kill Julies was loaded with live ammunition — in violation of police policy.
How the officers obtained the ammunition, and why it replaced nonlethal rubber bullets, remain unanswered questions.
Pictures of Julies’s body reveal that he was pockmarked by lead or steel pellets. His wounds were caused by ammunition usually used for hunting fowl, said independent forensic pathologist Dr Steve Naidoo.
“They [images] undoubtedly show typical fine shotgun pellet injuries,” he said. “The pellets can mostly embed themselves within craters in and under the skin and can be seen by the naked eye in many of the little pockets or cavities at the autopsy.”
Ballistics expert Thomas Wolmarans, who also examined the images, counted about 150 wounds. “If you look at how [the pellets] were dispersed we can estimate the distance between [Julies] and the shooter was approximately 20m,” he said.
Neither expert is involved in the investigation of the Julies case.
Birdshot consists of steel or lead balls packed into a shotgun cartridge. When the gun is fired, the shot leaves the barrel in a column and spreads.
In police terms, shotguns are normally used only for crowd control to fire rubber bullets or teargas grenades.
The use of birdshot was outlawed by the police in 2003 to change the way protests and violent crowds were managed.
“The use of firearms and sharp ammunition including birdshot and buckshot is prohibited,” says the police standing order 262.
Officers linked to Julies’s death are now in the firing line. Sgt Scorpion Simon Ndyalvane and Const Caylene Whiteboy, attached to the Eldorado Park crime prevention unit,
appeared in the Protea magistrate’s court on Monday.
They face charges of premeditated murder, defeating the ends of justice, discharging a firearm in a public space and the possession of prohibited ammunition.
Sgt Vorster Netshiongolo, a detective from the same station, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with defeating the ends of justice and being in possession of prohibited ammunition. On Thursday, Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesperson Ndileka Cola said a charge of being an accessory after the fact had been added.
“It means that the sergeant allegedly unlawfully and intentionally, after the murder of the child, assisted the accused to escape liability or evade justice.”
Cyril Brown, Julies’s uncle, said: “One of the witnesses who gave a statement to the police also confirmed that [Julies] was shot with a pump-action [shotgun].”
Brown said when the family went to identify the body, Julies had multiple wounds on his chest. “It was small holes and kind of looked like blisters,” he said.
Three witnesses to the shooting told the Sunday Times they heard only a single shot.
Two veteran police officers, who spoke to the Sunday Times on condition of anonymity, said there was no reason for officers performing crime prevention duties to arm themselves with a shotgun.
Cartridges were colour-coded to avoid confusion, they said. Rubber bullet casings were manufactured in semi-transparent white plastic that contained two visible rubber balls. “At the very least we are looking at a case of criminal negligence,” one said.
How birdshot was loaded into the weapon that killed Julies is unknown. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwana, speaking after the court appearances, said the ammunition “was no longer allowed to be used”.
Police spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters would not answer questions on why the officer had a shotgun and prohibited ammunition.
“Your questions happen to be in direct relation to a criminal case that is currently in court and still under investigation by the
Ipid. We are at this stage not at liberty to respond to the questions,” he said.
Gareth Newham, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, said the police had a legal and ethical duty to cast their net wider than the arrested officers.
“They need to investigate how [allegedly] this child was shot with ammunition which should never have been used,” he said.
“We need to understand what decisions were made by those officers before the shooting took place. They need to look at what briefing the officers received before going out on the street and examine the quality of their direct supervision; the quality of the officers in charge of them.
“Time and time again we see these situations where someone is killed or seriously injured and top police management dust off their hands and say: ‘Oh well, we’re waiting for Ipid to investigate’.
“It’s a complete abdication of their legal duty to take action themselves. The SAPS Act says the national commissioner is directly responsible for the discipline of its members, and that gets delegated downward.”