Last week our front page story ‘Mom seeks justice’ sparked some intense debate.
Many of our Facebook followers sympathised with the mother who lost her son in brutal fashion, but the majority were adamant the boy deserved what he got.
In a nutshell: A 17-year-old Shaka’s Head teen was fatally wounded, allegedly shot by a security officer during the riots last July.
His mother witnessed his death and claimed to be able to identify the shooter, but a year later the police have allegedly not followed up with her after taking her initial statement.
We simply allowed her the platform to ask a valid question: Is this justice?
The newspaper was not declaring a verdict. We do not decide whether the boy, or indeed his shooter, was innocent or guilty.
Many of the security companies were Ballito’s only defence against potential looters and the town owes them a debt of gratitude.
The purpose of the article was to determine whether the police were in fact investigating his death, or whether the entire uncomfortable mess had been assigned to file 13.
A week after publishing the article there is still not a word from Saps on the matter.
The silence is deafening. Is it not the domain of the courts, and not the police, to decide whether this death was justifiable?
‘But he was one of the rioters!’ people protest. This is not an easy case. Facilities in towns in across KwaZulu-Natal were burnt to the ground and people were terrified.
Yet, in Ballito a truce was called and the community of Shaka’s Head did not burn or loot but instead agreed to join Ballito residents on the bridges protecting this area from harm.
The youngster, Lwazi Dube, was shot on Monday, July 12 before the truce was called and possibly the situation warranted use of lethal force.
But then perhaps it did not.
I cannot possibly claim to know the answer to this question.
This is the purpose of the court system.
Much like after Apartheid I believe something similar to ‘The Truth and Reconciliation commission’ is needed in the wake of those terrible riots.
A year has passed and we have developed community amnesia about the horrors that took place.
Yet the trauma is still there, just below the surface.
ALSO READ: Shaka’s Head mother seeks justice for son shot during last year’s July unrest
Slapping a plaster on and pretending these things did not happen causes wounds to fester, not heal. Wounds only heal if the rot is cleaned out and the truth is exposed.
Then real forgiveness can take place.
*** I caught a bunch of keyboard warriors in my yard digging up large wooden stakes. They said the posts had to be removed before they caused a fence.
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