The police officers who were arrested in connection with the death of Mthokozisi Ntumba in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court. Picture: Neil McCartney
The four police officers accused of the death of a bystander during student protests at Wits University in Braamfontein will be back in the dock on Wednesday, 24 March, for their formal bail application.
The four officers, Tshepiso Kekana, 27, Motseothata Boitumelo, 43, Madimeja Lekgodi, 37, and Victor Nkosinathi Mohammed, 51, will make their second appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder, attempted murder and defeating the ends of justice.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) confirmed in a statement last week the officers are from the Public Order Policing Unit.
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They were detained at the Hillbrow police station following their arrest in connection with the death of bystander Mthokozisi Ntumba, who was killed, allegedly when the officers fired rubber bullets during the Wits protests.
Ntumba had just come out of a doctor’s consulting rooms as seen in an edited CCTV footage of the incident which was shared on social media.
It showed the 35 year old running away as a police Nyala pulled up and a number of officers disembarked with their firearms drawn.
Meanwhile, the charges against two students who were arrested on allegations of being in possession of an unlicensed rifle, have been provisionally withdrawn.
The two students, a 24-year-old man and 21-year-old woman, were arrested last Wednesday during an Artist In Revolution commemoration for Ntumba.
READ MORE: Uni had ‘no control’ over police action, says Wits VC
Their case was not placed on the roll and the charges against them were provisionally withdrawn pending the results of ballistic testing on the rifle in question.
It is believed that the rifle – an Israeli-made Galil – had in fact been permanently deactivated by welding the barrel closed and that it was used as a prop in an art studio.
Additional reporting by Bernadette Wicks
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