By Thembi Siaga and Kaizer Nengovhela
The police have opened a murder case, following a confrontation that left a 27-year-old suspect dead in Gogobole village on Monday, 10 November.
According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), officers were tracing suspects linked to a house robbery when they approached a house at around 15:30. The suspect, identified as Awelani Munyanganyi, allegedly confronted the police with a knife.
"A warning shot was fired, but the suspect continued advancing at the police officer. Another shot was fired, and as a result, the suspect sustained a head injury. The emergency medical personnel services were summoned, and the suspect was transported to a local hospital where he was announced deceased," reads the statement issued by the SAPS.
Munyanganyi was allegedly wanted for multiple offences, including house robbery, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, business burglary, malicious damage to property, and attempted armed robbery. The police said he was linked to a robbery on Sunday, 9 November, when an unknown man entered a home through the roof, stole a cell phone valued at R11,959, and fled.
A witness described hearing gunfire and seeing a crowd gather around a man lying in a pool of blood. "There were many police there, and a man was lying face-down on the ground. The scene was very scary," the witness said.
The family of the deceased expressed shock and demanded answers. Spokesperson Masindi Mugwedi said: "What did Awelani do to these police that made them kill him? We want justice. He was a decent and respectful young man, and the family has been robbed of a valuable member."
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) confirmed it had been notified of the incident and had visited the scene to reconstruct events. IPID said a post-mortem would be conducted at a date to be confirmed and cautioned that its investigation was still in its early stages.