Grief-stricken lover ‘struggling’
Man’s body remains in mortuary as family has no funds
THE FAMILY of a Mozambican man killed by a police officer suspected to have been battling a mental illness cannot bury him.
The family of Emmanuel Mairo Matshinhe, 32, is still struggling to gather funds for his burial, after he was killed by a Flying squad member of the Moffatview police station two weeks ago.
It was believed Matshinhe was on his way to church when the officer shot him. He died at the Greenfield flats in City Deep.
Rumours of the cop being mentally ill were confirmed when his family apologised to Matshinhe’s grief-stricken lover, Rebecca Makhanya, 43, last week.
The shooting happened on December 5. Security guard Zuzile Mahamba said the officer had – before the shooting – forced him and another guard to open the gate of the flats by holding a gun to his colleague’s head.
The officer is alleged to have started firing in the air and attacking anyone in sight after being let in.
Residents of the apartments said he killed two people and injured another two.
Despite the Flying Squad member being off duty, videos showed him marching in the parking lot of the flats in his uniform.
Makhanya said Matshinhe’s body was still being held at a government mortuary due to the lack of funds.
According to her, the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) and the SAPS said they would try their best to help them in this “difficult” time of their life but that has not happened.
A committee leader at the flats who declined to be named said Makhanya gave Joshco a quote of R12 500 for funeral costs but was told that they did not bury people.
“It is quite painful that nobody is saying anything at this stage. Frankly, we do not know what to do because people are being very nasty about the situation. We have since started asking tenants to contribute and some even go as far as to say they won’t help bury a “Shangani”. Some are giving R10s and how is that going to help?” she asked.
Makhanya said she and the deceased’s brother had approached the Mozambican Embassy and were told that the offices were going to close for the holidays and would only open in January.
“This is a terrible situation to be in. Honestly, I don’t know what to do. We are stuck. Yes, the police man’s family apologised to us but I asked them, what is going to happen with his burial, and they said they would not be able to assist.”
According to her, the family of the officer will have to bury him, as the state will not because he was off-duty.
A representative of the Mozambique Embassy, who declined to be named, said despite the embassy not being able to assist, they were trying to help by all means with the burial of Matshinhe and were in talks with all the relevant departments.
A lawyer previously advised the family they were eligible to sue the state for loss of income since the deceased was the breadwinner of the family and more especially since the officer committed this “uncalled for” action with a state weapon and in uniform.
However, Makhanya does not even have money to bury her late lover and it would be difficult for her to pursue the legal route at this stage, the lawyer had stated.
“We are still trying to get relatives to assist with donations to bury him and we want to at least bury him by next Sunday.
“I am just hoping we will have enough funds by then,” Makhanya said.
Moses Dlamini of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said the matter was not in Ipid’s jurisdiction.
“The family should make a claim against the state and let the legal process take its cause. We cannot divulge further information until we have completed our investigation,” said Dlamini.
Police service said they would try their best