Tembisa hospital nurse’s family says ‘relationship was toxic’ as Popcru condemns shooting

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) says the death of a 30-year-old assistant nurse at Tembisa Hospital has highlighted how the wellbeing of police officers “must be of central importance”.

Lebo Monene was shot dead by her boyfriend, who is a South African Police Service (Saps) officer, on Wednesday forcing the hospital to shut down temporarily.

According to the Gauteng Department of Health, the police officer – who was on duty – entered the hospital in Ekurhuleni with a state vehicle and called his partner to the parking lot, where he shot her before turning the gun on himself.

The 31-year-old man was then airlifted to Milpark Hospital after surviving and is said to be in a critical condition. 

The police constable is attached to the Ekurhuleni Cluster Tracing Team, the Independent Investigative Directorate (Ipid) confirmed on Wednesday.

Ipid spokesperson Grace Langa indicated that the nurse – who worked at the hospital since April 2016 – was shot about seven times in the head and neck.

“The girlfriend was certified dead on the scene by paramedics. The constable police officer was airlifted to Milpark Hospital with a bullet wound on his cheek and he is in a stable condition. A case of murder was opened at Tembisa Saps,” Langa said.

‘Underlying challenges’

Reacting to the incident, Popcru condemned the shooting, but argued that the root of the problem was the environment police officers operate in.

“Such regrettable acts dent the image of the Saps as an organisation, and while we abhor and sturdily discourage such acts, their frequency among members, we believe, are partly as a result of the deep-rooted underlying challenges faced by many among the Saps ranks,” the union said in a statement.

Popcru said suicides among Saps members were “alarming”, adding that South Africa still “struggles with some of the highest rates of violent crime in the world, and pressing human tragedies compete for police attention”.

ALSO READ: Tembisa hospital open to public after shooting incident

“This state of affairs is further compounded by the limited chances of promotions, the shortages of resources and unfair practices in relation to compensation, coupled with the reality that there are inconsistencies in leadership, which continues to cause divisions in the law enforcement environment.

“All these challenges are faced at a time when the service is constrained by budgetary cuts, which pose serious risks to the wellbeing of police officers, and has demonstrated the correlation between the lack of resources and the demands of the service. 

“Their wellbeing cannot be disconnected from the broader environment in which they operate,” the union continued.

Man gets 12 years in jail for killing mother of his children

Meanwhile, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) also condemned the incident, urging law enforcement agencies to ensure that the police officer faces the full might of the law for “abusing his power”.

The union also called for tighter security measures at hospitals.

“This incident has highlighted the need to reconsider allowing officers of the law to enter facilities with guns, and the need to have gun storage in healthcare facilities by security unless they are escorting a dangerous patient or a convict,” Denosa Gauteng chairperson Simphiwe Gada said.

‘Toxic relationship’

Monene’s brother, Daniel Thobakgale, said the family was saddened by her death.

“As the Monene family, we are deeply saddened by the sudden death of our child, a mother to two young boys and a sister. Our hearts are very much in pain.

“Lebo was a young and energetic woman. The kids are with their grandparents in Limpopo. Her parents are shattered. They couldn’t talk to me when I called them,” he told the media outside Monene’s house.

READ MORE: Murdered deputy principal’s husband wants justice

He said their relationship was “too toxic”.

“That is what I was told because the gentleman, it seems as if every time they had a quarrel he would say, ‘Where is my gun? I will shoot you’. That’s the reason Lebo decided to end the relationship,” he said.

Thobakgale refrained from providing more details of their relationship, adding that the police officer’s family knew of the issues surrounding the pair because they have had meetings with them.

Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi also visited Monene’s home to pay her respects on behalf of the department.

Addressing the media, Mokgethi said security and safety measures at hospitals was being reviewed and tightened to ensure the safety of patients and staff. 

WATCH: MEC @DrMokgethi addressing the media outside the family home of Lebogang Monene. During the meeting with management & labour unions at @TembisaHospital today, a decision was taken to review and implement security measures that'll enhance the protection of staff & patients pic.twitter.com/F2xSFmtB0R

— Gauteng Health (@GautengHealth) February 9, 2022