SOWETAN SAYS | Ntumba's family need justice for his killing

Yesterday marked four years since Mthokozisi Ntumba lost his life when he was struck by rubber bullets fired by police during a university student protest. On the day, March 10 2021, Ntumba had travelled to Braamfontein, Johannesburg, for a doctor's appointment, only to be fatally shot on the city's street afterwards. 

His demise unintentionally turned into a symbol of sacrifice for the protest that day, as students from nearby Wits University used his death to amplify their fight against academic exclusion linked to outstanding student debts at the institution.

Four police officers charged with his murder were later acquitted as the judge cited acute weaknesses in the state's case. It is open to debate whether the fundamental shortcomings by the prosecution in the matter were deliberate as the accused were state operatives.

One memorable incident in the case is when the state claimed that a key witness, a CCTV technician who retrieved the shooting footage, was not traceable. However, around the same time, a Sowetan reporter travelled just 40 minutes to Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, to meet and interview the witness.

Naresh Suredin told our reporter from his home that he did not know about the state's interest in him in the case and nobody had contacted him about testifying in court. Meanwhile, the four accused cops – Tshepiso Kekana,  Cidraas Motseothatha, Madimetja Legodi, and Victor Mohammed – carry on with their professional and personal lives, while justice remains elusive for Ntumba's widow and his four children.

This doesn't help the perception in SA that justice is a luxury of the well-resourced while ordinary citizens can only hope for good fortune to turn in their favour in such matters. 

The Ntumbas, back in their rural home in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, are not only dealing with financial difficulties in the wake of their loved one's death but are also experiencing profound mental and spiritual distress, according to the family lawyer.

Plans to rename De Beer Street in Braamfontein in his honour offer little solace. A street name cannot raise his children, nor can it replace a husband’s embrace.

The family's last hope now lies in the civil action it has instituted against the state. Yet true justice is not measured in settlements, but accountability. The least the state can do is ensure that his killers do not walk free under its protection.

SowetanLIVE