“I forgive you, whoever did this. I forgive you. I want to take away this pain because if I hold this grudge against this person, I won’t be free. Only God knows. That is why I say let’s have peace. Ja, we are hurt but let’s have peace. He was my brother, he is still my brother. I will never forget you Dumisani Joxo.”
As the noon heat beat down on those attending the memorial service for Dumisani Joxo (44) – the man who was shot and killed on Sunday 9 January – his younger brother, Mzwanele, stood shivering with grief.
Only a few minutes before, he had been animated and as he shared anecdotes about his brother with the small crowd who had gathered at the very spot where the shooting had taken place.
But when People’s Post approached him for comment after the service held on Friday 14 January, it was clear Mzwanele was deeply shaken by his loss.
According to the media statement sent out by Rondebosch Police Station last week, a street person was shot dead by a law enforcement officer after an altercation in Rondebosch on the Liesbeek Trail off Chester Road on Sunday 9 January at 10:05.
The statement describes how two law enforcement officers responded to a complaint of people living on the empty patch of land directly adjacent to the railway line running past the Liesbeek Trail.
“The officers instructed the vagrants to put out the fire on arrival, but they refused, and an argument ensued between the vagrants and the officers. The officer pushed over the pot of mielie meal that was on the fire at the time. More of the vagrants joined the argument, which escalated the confrontation, at which time the officer felt threatened, and to protect himself, he shot one of the vagrants in the mouth,” the statement read.
Immediately following the shooting, a murder case was opened, and the law enforcement officer was arrested and detained at Rondebosch Police Station.
On Tuesday 11 January, the murder accused appeared at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court.
According to the City of Cape Town, no charge of murder has yet been made.
“The matter has instead been postponed to (Tuesday) 12 April 2022 as further investigation is required to get to the truth,” a media statement released by the City read.
The officer was released on bail.
As outrage at the shooting spread last week, conflicting statements began to air around what exactly happened that morning. One of these came from Christopher Ceaser, the owner of the tent in front of which Dumisani was shot.
Speaking to People’s Post on Thursday 13 January, and again sharing his account of events at the memorial service, Ceaser ascribed Sunday’s escalating altercation to another street person present that day with Dumisani “being at the wrong place at the wrong time”.
According to Ceaser, this individual took off after the shooting and, as of last week, had still not resurfaced.
Also in attendance at the service were representatives from Ndifuna Ukwazi, a group of activists that campaign for justice and equality in poor and working-class communities. In a media statement released last week, the non-profit organisation claimed that the City’s “unchecked and escalating levels of violence towards street-based people came to a head” with the shooting of Dumisani.
In response, the City issued a statement, encouraging respect for due process of the official investigation.
“The City of Cape Town views any shooting incident involving law enforcement officers very seriously. We will cooperate fully with the official police investigation to determine what happened in the lead up to a fatal shooting in Chester Street on 9 January 2022,” a statement read.
U-turn, a non-profit organisation (NPO) based in Kenilworth, has called for a measured response focused on meaningful solutions to provide more people with a pathway out of homelessness. For the past 25 years, U-turn has refined a multi-phase programme for the rehabilitation and reintegration of people who are homeless.
Rowen Ravera-Bauer, chief communications officer at U-turn, said they cautioned against political groups and media inflaming the situation with unsubstantiated statements.
“The housed community is understandably frustrated by the growing numbers of homelessness, and the community that is currently homeless are frustrated by the lack of solutions to assist them. We cannot resolve this and find a meaningful solution when our community is divided,” said Ravera-Bauer.
She said over the years there had been friction between people who are homeless and law enforcement.
“However, our U-turn Service Centre managers in Claremont and Muizenberg have stated clearly that there has not been a reported increase in escalating levels of violence in the past few months. Our service manager in Mitchell’s Plain has noticed an increase, however, Mitchell’s Plain is struggling with gang territorial war that might be aggravating the situation.”
Ravera-Bauer added what was clear was that there had been an increase in homelessness.
“It does not benefit anyone, neither the person trapped on the street nor the community that faces the rising numbers. Our City must start investing in tracked solutions that result in pathways out of homelessness – this includes rehabilitation, skills development, increased job opportunities, facilitating access to housing and more.”
