Doctor fought to revive patient he had just seen

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Dr Tebogo Sedibe has told of the last moments of the man who was gunned down by police in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, yesterday.

Sedibe, a doctor at My Clinic on De Beer Street, told Sowetan he had examined the man whose identity has not been revealed just a few minutes before he was killed by police shooting at Wits University students during a protest outside the facility.

Sedibe said he treated the deceased for a gastric problem at about 10.30am and then released him.

“While sitting with another patient, I heard gunshots outside. I finished with the patient and then walked out and my assistant came in and said I should rush outside because the patient I had just seen has been shot. I got my PPE [personal protective equipment] and went outside. 

“I found him on the ground. One bullet hit him in the face, another in the chest and another right on the gastric area. He was still alive, gasping for his life. He was hurt badly," Sedibe said.

“I resuscitated him for about 20 minutes while waiting for a response vehicle from Netcare. They came very quickly. We connected him on the monitor…there was no sign of life.”

Sedibe said he treated four students who had been shot and were transported to different hospitals in ambulances.

Salon owner Fola Bello said she was still traumatised after witnessing the incident.

“The cop that shot him jumped over him. The guy was still alive, fighting for his life. He was shaking. They [police] then went and stood at the corner of the road while the guy was still alive and then disappeared,” Bello said.

After the shooting, students continued to protest not far from the body of the man.

Wits students have been protesting since Monday over the exclusion of students with historical debt. The institution has told those who owe fees that they cannot register for this year until they pay a certain amount.

The anger of the students has been fuelled by higher education and training minister Blade Nzimande's announcement on Monday that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme does not have a budget to fund new students entering universities and FET colleges across the country.

Another witness, Thabiso Mfolo, a student at the Johannesburg Institute of Engineering and Technology, said Wits students passed the university and when they reached the corner of Stiemens and De Beer streets, they saw police coming their way.

"Police chased the students and started firing rubber bullets. The man who was killed was walking on the road. They shot him first and he approached the cops and asked 'why are you shooting me'. They then fired more shots at close range and he fell down. They also fired shots at us and we ran into the building. My schoolmates were also shot,” said Mfolo.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said it dispatched four investigators to the scene.

Spokesperson Ndileka Cola said it will release further details once preliminary investigations have been concluded.

Wits executive management condemned the violence and sent messages of condolences to the family of the victim.

EFF leader Julius Malema described police as "cowards who want to show their bravery by killing protesting children".

“What happened to water cannons. What happened to the shields to push the children back? What happened to public order policing? Bloody illiterates who have no idea of what it means to control crowds. They think black people can only be controlled with pain and blood because that is what apartheid did…” Malema said.

The SACP condemned the killing, saying: “The government must focus on expanding the capacity of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training [TVET] colleges and universities as a sector to avoid an increase in, and to reduce, the number of young people who are not in employment, education and training.”

SA Student Congress president Bamanye Matiwane said: “Sasco reiterates its call for all students to reject this neoliberal ANC government and render all campuses across the country ungovernable.”