Brutal killing of Myeni by US police was racially motivated, says family
Grief-stricken family shocked by murder
Slain former rugby player Lindani Myeni’s grief-stricken family has battled to come to terms with his brutal killing.
Pouring out his anguish, Lindani’s uncle Andile Myeni told Sunday World this week that since immigrating to the US, the deceased had never enjoyed any peace in his neighbourhood located in the revered island of Honolulu in Hawaii.
“He would usually call expressing his worry on how deep racism was in the US, complaining that his neighbours treated him with suspicion. Despite this hostility being shown by the locals, he resolved to stay because he loved his wife. He regarded the US as a country with ample of opportunities where his family would flourish and provide good investment for his children. All his aspirations were shattered and his young life snuffed out like a candle,” lamented Myeni.
The 29-year-old from Esikhaleni, north coast of Kwazulu-natal, met his untimely death on Wednesday last week when he was shot and killed by three police officers in the area, a few houses from his home. According to an official report issued by Susan Ballard, police chief of Honolulu police department, Myeni was killed in self-defence.
She downplayed the incident, saying the lives of her officers were in imminent danger, alleging that Myeni had initiated the violence when he got off from his vehicle and wrestled with police officers and overpowered them. During the alleged scuffle, Myeni was shot four times.
He was rushed to hospital where he was later declared dead.
The police officers, who initially did not identify themselves at the scene of the incident, were apparently responding to a complaint claiming that Myeni had followed an unidentified woman to her home in what was interpreted as a housebreaking attempt. This claim is, however, rejected by Myeni’s wife, Lindsay, who said the killing was racially motivated.
Lunga Ngqengelele, the spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, said: “We are only facilitating the repatriation process. In an instance like this, where police are killing people, it becomes a domestic matter.
“The US government has said they are investigating the matter and we’ll await to hear from them. The role of the department is to maintain bilateral and multilateral relations with other countries. We currently enjoy very strong and good relations with America and we will continue maintaining this,” explained Ngqengelele.
Masimbonge Dludla, a friend and former teammate of Myeni at the Jaguars Rugby Club, said the deceased met his wife Lindsay in 2015 and it was love at first sight. “They were inseparable. I remember that after they met, Lindani told me that he has find his soulmate,” said Dludla.
The couple later got married in South Africa before relocating to the US. Lindsay, a devoted Christian and an estate agent, had been on a missionary trip criss-crossing the African continent and Asian countries preaching the word of God when they met.
The couple were blessed with two children, a one-year-old boy and a six-months-old toddler. Myeni had spent a year in the US before being killed.