Justice elusive for police shooting survivor

A survivor of a police shooting in Mpumalanga is demanding justice, almost four years after the incident that changed his life forever.

Thabo Mbonani from Leandra says he was shot by the police, without a warning, in a case of mistaken identity in 2020.

“I am a law-abiding citizen who was on my way to work when the police just shot at me,” he adds.

Mbonani says while the police admitted to this – no one has been held to account for his ordeal.

“SAPS haven’t made a public apology statement regardless of the damage this mistaken identity shooting has caused.”

The married father of one wants compensation and his shooters arrested.

He says the incident has not only affected his physical and emotional well-being but has also hit him hard in the pocket.

He spent five months at home recovering from his injuries.

“And (it was) at the time I was still struck by severe trauma and fears on the undertaking to uncover or expose the ordeal suffered and still suffering on the aftermath, where I lost a Process Artisan position and got demoted to a Clerk position due the permanent injuries the gunshots caused/left on my upper-right shoulder which resulted to a career suicide. I am currently earning a salary that is roughly R10 000.00 being lost on my take home, though I am still humbled to be employed still by my employer. I have lost a lot while this unsettled matter persists uncovered,” he explains.

Mbonani says the pressing issue now for him is to break the silence of the State Attorney and police watchdog, IPID, on the matter.

He says IPID sent the bullet fragments from the shooting for analysis so that a ballistic investigation report can be released, but nothing has ensued.

“The state attorney and IPID itself have since gone to ground. They don’t answer my attorneys’ calls. The avoidance of the state to reply to this matter though my attorneys of record have already successfully brought the matter forth to the attention of the state attorney’s office, to date there’s no response as to whether they are defending it or not.”

“And the other hand main issue is the silence and delay of IPID to release ballistic investigation report of which they did collected the bullets fragments at Parklands hospital in Springs, Gauteng, back in year 2022, early February and submitted at Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria, Silverton (Was advised by the IPID) investigating officer assigned on this matter), through a follow up.”

YNews has reached out to IPID and the State Attorneys’ office for their respond to the claims levelled against them and will publish their responses once secured.