LIMPOPO – Edwin Malatji, chairperson of Ba-Phalaborwa Concerned Community Members (BCCM) believes that the bullets that killed David Malungana on Wednesday, September 25, was meant for him.
He alleges that an attempted assassination was aimed at stopping a peaceful march which he led the next day in town.
The march was to hand Foskor and the Office of the Presidency memorandums of BCCM’s dissatisfaction of events in Phalaborwa.
“We learned that the procurement office of Foskor recently bought five brand new vehicles at a dealership in Midrand.”
He says they are questioning why Foskor has an office in Gauteng when the mine is in Phalaborwa. He also asks why the vehicles were not bought locally.
“It means the mine is not empowering the local people. We also have proof that some contractors at the mine have not been paid in the past few months, so we want the procurement office to visit Phalaborwa to put a stop to all of this,” he says.
Malatji further says the Office of the Presidency did not attend the meeting they had agreed on, to hand over the memorandum after learning about the shooting the night before.
“We wanted to state our dissatisfaction with the local municipality to the presidency,” he says.
He says that he does not trust anyone and is prepared to die for the people of Phalaborwa. “I have been offered various positions by politicians and businesspeople, but I refuse to be captured by them.”
According to Limpopo police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba, on Wednesday, September 25, police received a complaint from a member of the community situated next to the tribal office gate, reporting that they were under attack.
Upon arrival they found the body of a 56-year-old man with multiple gunshot wounds to his forehead, back and his thighs.
According to reports, the deceased was allegedly with other members of the community in a tent when they heard gunshots coming from the main road near the tribal offices.
It appears that the suspects started firing at the community members and the victim was shot in the upper body, and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
Another community member, a 53-year-old man in the vicinity, was also shot in the thighs.
Malatji says he had been socialising with community members at the scene and was wearing a jersey and a cap, the same colour the victim was wearing. A few minutes before the incident, he left the gathering to have dinner at home.
It appears the suspects were parked in a vehicle a few meters away from where the community members were gathered when they opened fire.
Afterward, the suspects drove away. The vehicle could not be identified.
Anyone with information can contact investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Condry Mathebula at 082 469 1240 or Crime Stop number 08600 10111, the nearest police station or the MySAPSApp.
At the time of print, the Herald was unable to reach Foskor or the Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality for a comment.
