Man shot dead after birthday celebrations with his friends

Birthday celebrations among a group of friends ended tragically after one of them was shot and killed allegedly by a traffic officer.

KwaZulu-Natal call centre agent Sanele Thembani, 24, sustained a single gunshot wound to the head while he and his friends were driving home in Waterloo after the celebrations on Saturday.

According to a police report, he was shot allegedly by one of two metro police officers around 7:30pm when the police were conducting a roadblock between the Virginia and Broadway off ramps, Durban North, on M4 northbound.

The report said the two officers were stationed at the rear of the roadblock to prevent motorists from evading them by making U-turns onto the south bound carriageway. The report alleged that a silver Mazda BT50 in which Thembani and friends were travelling made a U-turn onto the M4 southbound, and endeavours made by the officers to stop it were in vain.

“The accused fired three rounds from his service rifle LM5... in the direction of the fleeing vehicle, which resulted in him fatally wounding a black male, namely Sanele Thembani, who sustained a gunshot wound to his [head] read the report.

Thembani’s sister, Ntokozo, said she was disappointed that the officers failed to report the incident immediately, but had only done so two days after the shooting. 

“We want the suspect to be convicted and go to jail. He is not a protector of the public... he is an evil person who does not belong in the society,” she said.

“He [Thembani] was such an amazing person. He was so calm and he did not like noise or violence. ."

Thembani’s cousin, Sinethemba Makhanya, who was travelling with him, said the four friends had been out to celebrate their birthdays, which were in July, on August 6 at Blue Lagoon Beach.

On their way home, the group encountered a traffic jam, which they had thought had been caused by an accident they had just passed, said Makhanya.

“The driver of our vehicle made a U-turn. We drove past two Durban metro police officers,” said Makhanya. She said one of the officers opened fire at them without warning.

She further alleged that the officers were not wearing police reflectors to make them visible at night.

“I also did not see the car that the officers were travelling in. After passing, I heard gunshots. I saw Sanele [Thembani] bowing down and I followed suit, thinking he was ducking the bullets. When I tried to speak to him, he was non-responsive. I then realised that there were blood and brain fragments on the cooler box. That is when I suspected that Sanele was no more,” said Makhanya.

She said she banged on the window to alert the driver to stop the vehicle as Thembani had been shot.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s spokesperson Robbie Raburabu said it was investigating a case of murder and attempted murder.

“[The cop who discharged the firearm] was not alone at the time... as the investigation is still continuing, we’ll establish as to whether there is any other person who discharged the firearm on that day. Those were the only two members who were standing at that point where the deceased was shot,” said Raburabu.

“Those two [officers] were standing at the site where this vehicle was seen making a U-turn. [The officers] said they thought [the bakkie] was running away from the roadblock,” he said.

Raburabu said the accused officer also said he shot at the bakkie after hearing gunshots. He said it was not clear when the probe would be concluded.