Television news footage aired on SABC news on Wednesday night showed Tatane bleeding from his chest and collapsing to the ground - dead.

The Star yesterday quoted two eyewitnesses as saying that it was an unjustified attack.

Witness Seipati Lebusa described the horror. She said Tatane was a teacher who volunteered his services to Grade 12 pupils, teaching them maths and science.

She said a group of people were watching the protest from a municipal building on the street where the attack took place.

"People had dispersed and the police were pouring water on people," she said.

"Andries approached them and asked them to stop. They pulled him to one side and five or six policemen started beating him up."

Lebusa said she heard someone shout "shoot", but did not see anyone do any shooting since police had surrounded the teacher.

Suddenly they moved away and she saw Tatane lying on the ground.

Johan Burger, senior crime and justice researcher at the Institute of Security Studies, criticised police behaviour.

"It is obvious that the police went completely overboard," he said.

It is still unclear whether Tatane was shot by the police or by protesters, or if the wounds in his back and chest were from live ammunition or rubber bullets.

Burger said that if the police had used rubber bullets, they still flouted the rules.

"Rubber bullets can kill you if they are fired at you at point blank range. The use of rubber bullets at point blank range is completely against the rules that guide the actions of the police," he said.

A police colonel from KwaZulu-Natal said yesterday that police "brutality is increasing" and that incidents like the one in Ficksburg were because police did not have adequate non-lethal weapons, like Tazers, to deal with potential dangerous situations.

Comments

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Sun May 19 14:42:55 SAST 2013 ::

Apr 15, 2011

McLoving

ANC government's failure to keep it's promises.

Now look at what is happening to the people.

I blame the ANC .
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Apr 15, 2011

Buka

this dogs are out of control
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Apr 15, 2011

Arewanga

skande - wat n jammerte !!
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Apr 15, 2011

Arewanga

What does the ANC and the MIGHTY MALEMA have to say about this!
As for me I say F@#@ck the police!!
I regret that I ever felt sorry for them whenever they are killed in the line of duty by ciminals.
What is Gen BHEKI "SHOOT TO KILL" CELE saying about this!!
This is reminiscent of the apartheid era,
Its about time that we shoot back.

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Apr 15, 2011

Livelifemolefe

Blame it all on ANC.
Now they are even censoring SABC as what to brodcast and what not.
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Apr 15, 2011

vat'nsit

the bab.oon Cele said shoot to kill
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Apr 15, 2011

Magolwana

There is no difference between the Mugabe & Zuma how can people die like chickens .the Govern must take action against these Vampire Police.
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Apr 15, 2011

klady

Andries approached them and asked them to stop. They pulled him to one side and five or six policemen started beating him up.....FOR WHAT?he asked the police to stop and they started beating him up...GUYS please grow up and stop this rubbish that you doing killing your own brother
la nyanyisa man ...idiots
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Apr 15, 2011

ITmogul2011

That's brutality....now he have left his son behind....because of stupid selfish IDIOT policeman
To Bheki Cele if it was a police man who had been shot...UR COMMENT WHARE GOING TO BE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF EACH AND EVERY NEWSPAPER IN SA....why are u not commenting on this isssue...cause u know that ur guys are wrong .

I want to see the full cause of law to take its cause....BIKO died the same way, he was a freedom fighter and to Andries may ur spirit rest in peace my brother.....GOD WILL FIGHT UR BATLES
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Apr 15, 2011

Poloitsile

I saw the video clip of that mentioned supposed brutality by Police to Tatane,what I experienced on that clip,Tatane was fighting the police with fists & they retaliated by "moering" him hard with batons & unfortunately the 2 minutes Mike Tyson perished form suspected head injuries,the police never shot at him.In short I can say,he asked for it,ke moipolai,you can't fight Police like that trying to be a hero,ba ta ku nyisa!!!
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