Pretoria - It has taken six long years but the family of slain DJ and sound engineer Nkosinathi Ntuli finally have justice after the railway police officer who shot him dead hours after the closing ceremony of the 2010 Soccer World Cup was found guilty of culpable homicide.
The slain DJ Nathi never got to hold his son in his arms and his father will now pursue a civil claim against the state to ensure his 6-year-old grandson is cared for.
“Now that a fair judgment has been passed, the next step is to file a civil claim against the man who was responsible for my son’s death,” said a relieved Thomas Ntuli.
He was speaking moments after Warrant Officer Enoch Makgamatha, 45, was found guilty on Friday of culpable homicide by the Pretoria Regional Court.
Makgamatha was, however, acquitted of murder.
Makgamatha, along with Sergeant Jacobeth Ngobeni, 47, Captain Lilian Tlhapi, 58, and Captain Moetsi Mabena, 46, stood accused of killing Ntuli in 2010.
But charges against Ngobeni, Mabena and Tlhapi were withdrawn after the State failed to link them to the killing.
“Perhaps the verdict could have been worse. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been. But it wouldn’t have brought my son back, and I accept it,” Ntuli said. “We knew that the officers were hiding behind the excuse that they shot my son because he was driving against traffic. He was not armed, and he didn’t steal or hijack anyone’s car.”
His son was gunned down by police as he was allegedly driving against the flow of traffic.
He was shot because he was allegedly cheeky to police officers and had apparently “dared” them to shoot him.
“The claim will be launched mainly because of Nkosinathi’s son, Nkosinathi jnr who never met his father,” Ntuli said.
He said his grandson was yet to be told about the tragic circumstances of his father’s death as he is still too young. “We still haven’t told him. He is not mature yet,” Ntuli said. “It’s difficult for him because he is a child. Other children have both parents, and he doesn’t have a father. He calls his maternal grandfather “Baba” because that’s the father figure he can relate to.”
Ntuli said he was grateful for the support that they received throughout the six years spent in pursuit of justice. He said they kept faith despite the many case delays. “There are people who were here for us. It was a long road and people sometimes lost hope because they would come to court and the matter would be postponed. It was discouraging, but justice prevailed in the end.”
Ntuli was returning home after helping the world witness the closing of Africa’s first World Cup at Soccer City when he was killed by police driving in an unmarked state car.
“This shows that nobody is above the law and it has sent a message to other officers not to be negligent by taking the lives of innocent people,” Ntuli said.
Makgamatha claimed that he fired shots at the DJ as he refused to co-operate with the officers after being found driving against the flow of traffic along Boom Street.
In his judgment, magistrate AC Bekker said the accused had no reasonable grounds to have fired shots at Ntuli as he was no longer driving against the flow of traffic as he had turned into Cowie Street.
Bekker also said Makgamatha was not acting within the law when he fired several shots at Ntuli’s vehicle as the latter did not pose a danger to the four police officers and the public. Bekker postponed the matter until November 25 when sentencing is expected. [email protected]
Pretoria News