The family of a 20-year-old man from Mawabeni in Matabeleland South who was allegedly shot by the police in May is demanding accountability and is seeking justice.
Smilo Mahlangu claims his son, Khanyisani, was shot by the police who were enforcing lockdown regulations at Mawabeni Business Centre on May 29.
Khanyisani was part of a crowd that fled when police approached them resulting in him being allegedly shot in the leg.
Narrating the ordeal to CITE, Smilo Mahlangu said her son was shot by the police and they left him on the scene without getting any help for him.
“My son was shot in Mawabeni around 7pm on 29 May, 2020, by a police officer only known to us as Sibanda from Esigodini,” said Mahlangu.
“They shot him and left him there, he was only picked up by some people who took him home and he was ferried to the clinic the following day.”
She revealed that she has tried to engage the police in Esigodini on her son`s case but she has not found any answers.
“The police are not giving me any answers on why they shot my son, he only told me that he was shot while they were running away from a group of officers who were on patrol while they were coming out of a bottle store. They had no face masks on and it was past curfew time which started at 6pm then,” she said.
Mahlangu claimed the Officer in Charge at Esigodini Inspector Lewis Kadzuraumera tried to cover up for the officer who shot his son and demanded that they provide them with the costs they would have incurred.
“We took him to the clinic and passed by the police station and they kept us from 1 pm till 5 pm until the doctor knocked off.
“The following day which was now the third day after he was shot, we took him to the clinic again, and he was put under an x-ray and the doctor confirmed that the bullet had grazed him and he dressed the wound,” narrated Mahlangu.
“Despite providing them with the costs, we never received any assistance from the police.”
Khanyisani said he is still in pain and the open is producing pus.
Meanwhile, Matabeleland South acting police spokesperson Inspector Loveness Mangena said they were not aware of the case.
“I am not aware of the case, we did not hear or receive this case, this is a case of interest if it happened, we should be knowing it,” said Inspector Mangena.
