In shocking CCTV footage
obtained by South Africa’s Sunday Times newspaper, police can be seen kicking
and fatally shooting the suspect after he has already been disarmed.
South African media have
identified the suspect as Khulekani Mpanza, and said he had earlier fired at
police while attempting an armed robbery. Officers chased him from the scene to
the point where he was killed on the pavement in Krugersdorp, west of
Johannesburg.
A murder investigation has
been launched against a police constable accused of shooting Mpanza multiple
times as he lies wounded. In the video, the gun Mpanza used in the attempted
robbery can be seen lying out of reach on the ground.
A police sergeant who appears
to kick the suspect after he has been shot, as well as other members of the
unit, could also face action from the Independent Police Investigative
Directorate (Ipid) for failing to stop the shooting or assist the dying man.
According to the Sunday Times,
32-year-old Mpanza attempted to rob a hardware store in the Krugerdorp suburb
of Lewisham on the afternoon of 19 October.
Police, reportedly acting on a
tip-off, were waiting in a van a short distance away. A witness told the
newspaper Mpanza loitered for a short time near the door of the shop then
walked out and fired around eight shots at the van before fleeing.
None of the officers involved
in the shooting have been suspended, and Krugersdorp police told reporters they
would await “word from Ipid” before taking any action.
The African News Agency quoted
police Lt Gen Lesetja Mothiba as saying any police officers who acted
unlawfully will be prosecuted.
A spokeperson for Ipid, Robbie
Raburabu, told the Times that Mpanza's postmortem showed he sustained three
gunshot wounds, to his arm, head, and chest. “It's very difficult to get
witnesses in such cases. We were very lucky to get this footage,” he said.
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