A killing in plain sight — and by a cop
“The riot vehicle came in full force. It was like a war and the police officer just started shooting.”
This was how Thando Sibanda, a beautician in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, described the fatal shooting of Mthokozisi Ntumba.
Ntumba, 35, died on Wednesday when police fired rubber bullets at protesting Wits University students.
A father of four, he worked at the department of human settlements in Tshwane and was responsible for about 20 projects in that city.
Students took to the streets under the banner of #asinamali, protesting against the financial exclusion of those with historical debt, and fighting for firstyear students who can’t afford their fees.
On Thursday, it was business as usual on De Beer Street. Sibanda, who works a few metres from the crime scene, was sitting outside the salon where she works when she saw Wits students approaching. She said a handful stood on the pavement outside the Myclinic Jorissen Medical Centre.
“They were not singing and were just standing there, nothing that could have caused a shooting.”
Sibanda said that moments later police officers in an armoured vehicle, a Nyala, arrived and opened fire on students.
“That guy [officer] started shooting. I thought maybe he is throwing teargas or trying to do something, but he started shooting. We then ran inside the shop.”
They stood behind the locked safety gate and watched the tragedy unfold. A policeman got out of the vehicle and shot Ntumba in the head, she said.
“That guy [Ntumba] asked him: ‘Why are you shooting me?’ He shot him again in the chest and jumped on him and got into the car [the armoured Nyala vehicle] and then they drove to the robot [metres away].”
“I asked myself, how do you shoot someone and see that he falls down and you just drive away? You are not even showing any remorse. He [Ntumba] was even carrying his medicine to show them that he is not a student,” she said.
Car guard Bongani Tshabalala was a few metres away when the shots were fired.
“He [Ntumba] came out of the clinic when they started shooting. They maybe thought he was a student. They shot him in the head and he tried to prove that he is not a student by pulling out a piece of paper and that’s when they shot him again in the chest and that’s when he fell down.
“It was at close range. Even I feared for my life and stood still. I hate the police for what they did to that guy.”
Moments after Ntumba was shot, Dr Tebogo Sedibe, who had examined him a few minutes before, said he heard screams and “very loud” gunshots.
“I found [Ntumba] lying down and he was gasping. I did cardiopulmonary resuscitation for about 20 minutes until the response vehicle came. Sadly, he was no more,” said Sedibe.
“I realised at that moment that it could have been me or my staff walking out that same door. It is sad and frustrating and it demoralises you because you don’t know where to run to. If things go bad, you need to be able to run to the police.”
Oliver Kubunya, who works nearby, questioned the force used by police on Wednesday.
“What is the reason for shooting at them? And shooting at close range. Why?
“Someone that wants to go to lectures, you just decide to shoot at them.
“All of them who were in that police car can’t go free, because no-one is above the law. You can’t just wake up and shoot at someone who is not even part of the protest. What they did to the guy is very painful, because he is a father and someone’s son.”
I asked myself, how do you shoot someone and see that he falls down and you just drive away?
Thando Sibanda an eyewitness to the fatal shooting near Wits