A father of an 11-year-old boy is calling for accountability after his son was allegedly hit by a stray bullet during a community meeting in Mapleton (Flakplaas) in June.
According to the father, Morgan Maxoki (38), on that day community members were summoned to a meeting by a man who allegedly claimed he owned the land they have occupied.
“Around 08:00 we met as community members at the ground before we moved to another open vacant land where he had called us to just after 10:00. While talking to the security guards on hand, the man took a gun from one of the security guards and then opened fire on us.”
Maxoki said his child, who was a few metres away from them, was hit by the stray bullet.
“My child came rushing to let me know he had been shot in the arm. When I looked at him his hand was full of blood, so we took him to clean the wound. We realised it was more serious and he was rushed to hospital,” explained Maxoki.
The father of three said his son was admitted to the hospital for about five days before being discharged.
“The bullet is still inside my child’s arm because the hospital hasn’t operated on him. I want justice because ever since the incident no one has been arrested while my family and I are suffering due to what the man has done. My child is always in pain and since the incident, we always have to take him to hospital for check-ups.”
According to a community leader, Freddy Mdabuli, a 39-year-old man was also shot in the leg on that day.
Mdabuli said they’ve been living in the area for 30 years. He admitted the land they’ve occupied was private land.
“On June 21, two days before the shooting incident, we were approached by two men who came to us on separate days claiming they owned the land. When we asked for proof to show they were the lawful owners, they never returned. The owner of the land died many years ago, so we were confused when these men claimed the land was theirs without proof.”
Another community leader, Nkosinathi Dlamini, said they recently allowed people to occupy that piece of land because the place had been used as a hideout for criminals.
“We have on numerous occasions found bodies and stolen cars dumped here, so we taught if we allow people to occupy the land it will prevent criminal activities.”
Dlamini claimed when the man in question approached them, he came with a court order and told them they were trespassing.
“He then asked for a meeting. We agreed, but when we went to the meeting we were shocked that he didn’t even want to talk to us but wanted to kill us.”
Dlamini said the community now fear for their lives because the man in question is allegedly always seen around the plot.
“We are so disappointed with the police because ever since the incident no one has been arrested. They haven’t even engaged us about what is going on with the case until recently when we handed over a memorandum of grievances. As the community, we are calling for justice to prevail for the two families who have been affected.”
Speaking to the man who was also shot during the altercation, he said he can’t walk or do anything by himself.
“This has really affected me because now my lower leg has an external fixator and due to this, I am unable to go to work. I haven’t been getting any income since June.”
Dawn Park SAPS responds
According to Dawn Park SAPS Capt Dan Mahlangu, the police are investigating three cases – one of trespassing, land invasion and attempted murder.
“The reason why we haven’t arrested anyone is that the police are still investigating these cases that are linked. The attempted murder docket was not placed on the roll because of insubstantial evidence, so the police are still investigating.”
According to Mahlangu, when the complainant opened a case he didn’t specify who shot him; he apparently just said a ‘man’.
“The police are yet to contact the complainant to find out exactly who shot him because on that day there were too many people.”
Mahlangu said they are aware of the memorandum and will revert back to the community within 14 days.
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