EFF Gauteng statement on the fatal shooting of the JMPD officer by a police officer in Braamfontein Johannesburg
27 June 2023
The Economic Freedom Fighters Gauteng notes with shock the brutal gunning down of an officer of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) in the early hours of Monday in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
A video making rounds on social media shows an altercation between a man who is identified as a member of the JMPD and another man who has been identified has a member of the South African Police Service, where the latter responded by shooting at the alleged assailant who was threatening him with a gun.
Gun violence in Gauteng continues to rise and this worrying statistic is further entrenched by the same people who we trust to work hard in curbing it. The Fourth Quarter Crime Statistics of the year 2022/23 released by the Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner General Elias Mawela two weeks back indicate that violent crime has by at least 2000 counts. An incident such as this one does not help the situation, but it serves to inspire criminals who perpetuate gun violence to continue terrorizing our communities.
This incident also goes on to show how easy it is for South Africans to threaten each other with death and eventually go through with it. This total disregard for Black lives in our communities speaks to the erosion of the moral fiber amongst our people, and this is an issue we need to treat with the highest priority.
The EFF strongly condemns the use of firearms in the resolution of disputes in our neighbourhoods, even more so amongst law enforcement officers.
The EFF in Gauteng reiterates its position for the police to be better capacitated in the handling of firearms and they resolve conflicts in public spaces whether on duty or off-duty. This incident undermines the trust the residents of Gauteng place in the police to keep them safe and it brings the whole system of policing into disrepute.
We send our heartfelt condolences to the affected families who are now left to pick up the pieces of this unfortunate occurrence where one has lost their loved one and the other is at risk of losing their livelihoods.
Issued by Nkululeko Dunga, Provincial Chairperson, 27 June 2023
