Kimberley - The town of Windsorton was on the brink of anarchy on Sunday night after police shot and killed a 23-year-old man accused of stealing a cellphone from a tuck shop owned by a foreigner. Thembi Might was shot only a few metres from his home in Kutlwano, Windsorton.
In the ensuing riot, nine people were arrested while a heavy police presence in the area was a sign of rising tensions. Several tuck shops owned by foreigners were attacked late on Sunday afternoon.
It is believed that one tuck shop owner reported that a cellphone and other items were stolen from his business.
Community members were on Sunday also baying for the blood of the police officer who allegedly shot Might, whom they said was unarmed and innocent.
They also said that the officer in question was also allowed to carry his firearm following the shooting incident.
“We are angry with the police for the degree of violence involved. This is police brutality because Thembi never carried any weapon or knife. There was no proof that he had stolen anything. We will not allow his death to go by unnoticed,” residents said.
Family members had to drag angry relatives away from the scene when they confronted the police. Might’s brother said he intended to open a case of pointing of a firearm against a police officer.
The victim’s mother, Lenah, was inconsolable following the death of her son. She was comforted by family members as well as police officers at the scene.
A shocked and crying Kenyaditswe Might, said that her brother was gunned down in front of her. She said that the police had pursued him on allegations of the theft of a cellphone since Sunday morning.
“He refused to accompany the officers to the police station because he had done nothing wrong. Two shots were fired at him although he was not injured. Later that afternoon I was walking behind him near the tuck shop when I told him to come home. Four police officers again attempted to get him into a police vehicle and a shot was fired into the ground. A second shot hit him near his heart and he collapsed.”
Might’s friend added that he was also accused of stealing things from a tuck shop and claimed that he was beaten up by police officers when he was taken in for questioning.
“We never stole anything. We would never do that.”
Community members condemned the shooting and said that the incident had bitterly soured relations with the police.
“Perhaps Thembi was a young man involved in naughty things, but that can not justify his death. He grew up in front of us and was such a pleasant person,” one resident said.
Thembi was not married and had no children.
The former chairman of the Hartswater cluster community policing forum, Shaun Brand, called for calm but also expressed “disappointment” at the incident.
“Emotions are running high and we cannot allow for a situation where there is turmoil. While it is unfortunate that someone has died in the process, I believe that this was an isolated incident.
“The community must work together with the police.”
Police spokesman, Lieutenant Sergio Kock, said the police in Windsorton attended to a robbery that allegedly took place at a tuck shop in Kutlwano at about 11.30am where the tuck shop owner alleged that a man robbed him of his cellphone and fled the scene the previous evening.
“The police transported the suspect to the police station for questioning. He became riotous inside the police bakkie and broke the police radio, the rear view mirror and the front windscreen,” Kock said.
“The suspect fled on foot and the police later found him at the same tuck shop where he allegedly committed the robbery.”
He added that the man allegedly charged at the police officers with a knife, stabbing one police officer on his bulletproof vest.
“This prompted the officer to fire a shot and injure the suspect fatally in the chest. The suspect died on the scene,” Kock said.
“A murder docket has been opened and referred to the Independent Police Investigations Directorate for investigation.”
Kock added that community members went on a rampage and looted more than 10 tuck shops in Kutlwano and Hebron Park.
“The police managed to arrest six women and three men for public violence.”
He said that the police were also investigating cases of attempted murder, robbery as well as the malicious damage to State property allegedly committed by the deceased.
“The situation is reported to be stable but the police intensified patrols and will be monitoring the area until it returns to normal.”
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