UPDATE 1-ANC condemns killing of SA rugby player Lindani Myeni
The ANC urged law-enforcement authorities in the United States to thoroughly investigate Myeni’s death and ensure that those found culpable would face the full wrath of the law.
DURBAN, April 21 (ANA) – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress on Wednesday condemned the killing of former professional rugby player Lindani Myeni in the United States.
Twenty-nine year old Myeni, a South African citizen living in Hawaii with his wife and two children, was shot dead during an alleged altercation with officers from the Honolulu police department.
“The ANC calls on the law-enforcement authorities of the United States to thoroughly investigate this tragic incident and ensure that those found responsible for Mr Myeni’s death face the full wrath of the law,” ANC spokesman Pule Mabe said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said the party was confident that South African authorities would get a full report about the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting a week ago.
“We urge our South African government to provide the Myeni family with all the support possible during their moment of grief,” Mabe added,.”
On Wednesday the provincial government in KwaZulu-Natal, Myeni’s province of birth, visited the family home of the late rugby player in Esikhawini, just outside Empangeni, led by KZN Director-General Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize.
A video tape of Myeni’s botched arrest shows police trying to apprehend him before shooting him first with a taser gun and then using live ammunition.
Honolulu police chief Susan Ballard told local media that police responded to a “robbery in progress” report at a Nuuanu home after Myeni entered and began talking with the homeowners, who were upset that he had come inside.
The video clip circulating online shows a woman frantically screaming and Myeni near his car as officers approach him. A few minutes later, he is shot multiple times. The video also shows that the arresting officers did not properly identify themselves but rather surprised Myeni with a blinding light, to which he reacted.
Myeni’s phone was also taken in as evidence.
During a press conference after the shooting, Honolulu police acting deputy chief Allan Nagata said he was impressed with the way the officers handled the call out.
“They were in the fight for their lives, let me be clear with you. And as a result of this they did very well, they were very brave, they fought for their lives,” Nagata said during a live news conference which was also streamed online.
“They didn’t shoot or discharge their firearm right away, this was not a case of overreaction.”
Nagata said Myeni should have known it was the police apprehending him before attacking them, as they had their radio, were in uniform and arrived in marked cars.
According to reports, the United States embassy in South Africa is carefully looking at the investigation around his death.
– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa
