Police probe into rubber bullet incident
Captain Nkosingiphile Mthethwa said a case was opened by Ngwenya at the Richards Bay police station recently, which was later transferred to KwaMbonambi where the incident took place
AS Sibongiseni Ngwenya prepares to undergo an operation for a prosthetic eye after his right eye was permanently damaged by a rubber bullet last month, KwaMbonambi police have confirmed an investigation is under way.
Captain Nkosingiphile Mthethwa said a case was opened by Ngwenya at the Richards Bay police station recently, which was later transferred to KwaMbonambi where the incident took place.
Ngwenya (43) sustained serious injury when police fired rubber bullets to disperse protesting community members last month.
The 43-year-old said he had just returned home from work when the life-changing incident happened.
‘I got off the taxi at the intersection where the protest was taking place and I decided to go into a nearby shop to buy airtime before walking home.
‘As I walked out of the shop, police fired rubber bullets at the protesters and I was hit in the eye.
‘I fell to the ground and when I tried to get up, I heard someone telling me to stay down.
‘I took off my work jacket and covered my eye because it was bleeding profusely,’ he recalls.
‘All I remember was being loaded into a car and transported to the clinic where I was stitched up and taken to Netcare The Bay Hospital.’
He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and later transferred to Netcare St Augustine Hospital in Durban for further treatment, where he was told his eye had to be removed.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp – 072 069 4169
Instagram – zululand_observer
