Johannesburg - There is no explanation or excuse for Mthokozisi Ntumba being shot dead, Police Minister Bheki Cele said on Thursday.
Ntumba, 35, was shot and killed on Wednesday after leaving a medical centre in Braamfontein.
Police had been firing rubber bullets to disperse protesting Wits students.
He was allegedly shot several times. Efforts to resuscitate him failed and he died at the scene.
“For me, someone just went crazy,” Cele said about the shooting.
He was speaking on Thursday outside Ntumba’s Kempton Park home.
Cele, Gauteng Police Commissioner Elias Mawela and members of Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) had paid a visit to the family at around 9am.
The media were not allowed to enter the home.
Ipid said late on Wednesday night that its investigation team were “processing voluminous evidence gathered in the crime scene during the preliminary investigation it conducted”.
Cele said the police would continue visiting the family of victims of alleged police brutality until it stopped.
He described Ntumba as a young man who worked for the Department of Human Settlements and had recently completed a Master’s degree.
“He’s a father of three and he’s got a very young wife. I think the youngest child is less than a year old. It’s a sad situation,” Cele said.
When responding to the criticism that the SAPS use excessive force on black citizens compared to those of other races, Cele said the question had been posed to him several times and it was becoming harder to defend the criticism.
“It’s becoming difficult to defend it but we are working on it. I don’t agree with it but there will be elements of such within the organisation. I don’t agree that it’s a stance of the SAPS but I will agree that there are elements,” he said.
The minister said justice needed to be served.
IOL