‘Ek het hom geskiet’, cop allegedly tells mom of man killed during Tembisa protest

The family of a man allegedly killed by Ekurhuleni Metro Police in the Tembisa protest believe they have been treated with contempt by the cops.

Pheta Molonyama was allegedly shot by a police officer while on his way home from work, according to family spokesperson Boitumelo Sekonyane.

His mother “was called by the community to tell her that [Pheta] had been shot.

She asked the [white police] officer if he was the one who shot him and he replied by saying, Ek het hom geskiet.

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He was in a police nyala and when he was driving off, he attempted to run her over, she claimed.

She said Molonyama was the sole breadwinner “taking care of his 69-year-old mother, unemployed brother and 11-year-old niece”, and she did not believe the officer was remorseful.

“In their eyes we are criminals, we are monsters and we represent an illiterate society because if he thought we were literate, he would have shown remorse when speaking to her.

“He did not care that he [Molonyama] was wearing his welding gear and work boots,” she said.

Sekonyane said Lebogang Maile, Gauteng MEC for human settlements, urban planning and cooperative governance and traditional affairs, and Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell had promised them justice.

“They said this was not a case to be taken lightly.”

She said the family was now putting their trust and faith in the people investigating Molonyama’s death.

Maile paid a condolence visit to the family yesterday.

“We are going for the MMC who claimed the deceased was posing a threat to the police,” he said.

“I hope he knows what is talking about… “MMCs must not sit in ivory towers and speak about reports they are getting; people must think before they speak.

“The mother who was nearly run over is sitting here, traumatised. If that person was posing a threat to the police, why would you want to run over an old lady?”

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Maile said authorities wanted to get the facts and that was the reason why he went to visit the family.

“This is also why we are saying Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) must look into the matter. We want the police not to be a killing machine of the people,” Maile said.

“Our people must not be scared to protest … as long as they are not doing it violently. We can’t have a [police department] that is trigger-happy.”

He also said there cannot be a justification for killing people.

“This person was not armed, he was wearing his work clothes, according to preliminary investigations.”

Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Suping said an investigation had been opened into the death of civilians allegedly killed by the police during the protest action on Monday.

“The investigators have reconstructed the scene and some witnesses have been interviewed,” she said.

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