Johannesburg - Police on Thursday said the military were responsible for the mortar bomb that crashed through the roof of an Ekurhuleni home, cracking the skull of a 20-year-old woman.
However, the defence force would not confirm this.
Felicia Klopper of Dalview, Brakpan, was left with a fractured skull and 15 stitches to her head on Saturday.
This morning, Brakpan police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Lucia Govender said the Witwatersrand Rifle Regiment in Germiston held a display in Brakpan on Saturday at Laerskool Die Arend, not far from Klopper’s home.
Govender said the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) investigated and discovered the mortar in question had not been booked back into stock.
“They’ve determined there were two of their members that were responsible for the incident and they have now given that info over to the (SAPS) investigating officer,” Govender said.
She said the investigating officer would interview the two SANDF members implicated.
SANDF spokesman Brigadier-General Xolani Mabanga had a slightly different version. “That’s still speculation,” he said. “We are in the process of verifying the display that was taken out by our people, if there was any firing there.”
“What we (SANDF) need is to ascertain is: where did the mortar shell come from,” he said.
He said there needed to be “sensitivity” when commenting because of the police investigation.
The Star