Girlfriend alleges cover-up in Mpumalanga SANDF shooting of man

Questions around the death of Molebatseng Centy Delebo, 37, from Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga who was killed after allegedly being shot by a soldier, need answers.

This is according to his girlfriend Ntombi Mlambo, who was among three other people with him in the car on the night of the incident.

Mlambo claims her boyfriend was shot three times by a soldier on Saturday night. The shooting happened as certain soldiers were deployed to the area following reports of mob justice, DispatchLive reported.

While police report the incident to have occurred around 9pm, Mlambo remembers waiting for help after their vehicle suffered mechanical failure around that time.

While waiting for help, they witnessed a mob manhandling someone.

Shortly after that, she claims soldiers came to their car demanding they step out of the vehicle. She was kicked seconds after she stepped out of the vehicle, she says.

“My boyfriend’s friend then got out of the car and asked what was happening. At that moment I ran away. I then heard three gunshots. I heard screams and walked back and realised that my boyfriend was on the ground, next to the car, and was covered in blood.”

Delebo was shot in the back, which implied he may have attempted to run for safety, according to Mlambo. She also said he had never owned a gun.

Police maintain preliminary investigations indicated Delebo was holding a firearm.

He was shot and killed, allegedly by an SANDF member.

It is understood that the SANDF member also suffered injuries to a finger.

The gruesome details follow those around the death of Collins Khosa in April. He was allegedly beaten by SANDF members and later died of his injuries.

Although an initial investigation into the matter found that he may have died of natural causes, this has highlighted a major issue, in which members of society claim police often got away scot-free when it came to assault crimes.

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