7 months later, no one is still responsible for Philippi’s wife losing her eye in an alleged police shooting

Siyasanga Gijana from Philippi.

• Siyasanga Gijana, a resident of Philippi, lost her eye in April after police fired at her garden.
• A witness said police fired from a moving police vehicle.
• Gijana filed a complaint and the matter was referred to the Independent Police Investigations Directorate.

Siyasanga Gijana, from the informal Ramaphosa settlement in Philippi, Cape Town, lost her right eye in April after police officers shot her while inside her yard. Almost seven months later, no one has been arrested and the Independent Police Investigation Directorate (IPID) is still investigating the case, GroundUp reports.

Gijana says that around 7:30 pm on April 23 she was outside her hut looking for water.

“I heard gunshots while I was at the tap. I didn’t know I had been shot until I saw blood coming out of my eye. I screamed for help.”

Her neighbor rushed her to the clinic where she was referred to the Groote Schuur Hospital. Doctors told him that his eye could not be saved.

Gijana filed a complaint at the Nyanga Police Station. The complaint was forwarded to IPID and she met with the investigating officer in Bellville in early May.

“We didn’t even talk too much when he asked me what happened, after taking the statement he told me to go home, they will investigate and contact me.”

They called her for a second visit later in May. Since then he has not heard from, despite attempts to follow up.

“I think they are letting this go without even discussing it with me,” he said.

Neighbor Andiswa Njova, who claimed to have witnessed the shooting, said officers fired from a police vehicle.

“Nobody knows why they decided to shoot without being provoked or anything. They didn’t even stop the car, they shot him while the car was moving,” he said.

Njova said that she was also outside. When he saw the police pointing guns in his direction, he ran into the hut. “While he was still running, shots were fired. After a few minutes I heard Gijana cry asking for help ”.

Njova said that IPID had not interviewed her.

“I waited for them to come and ask questions, but they never did and Gijana will never get justice,” he said.

Gijana says the investigating officer told her it would be difficult to identify the police officers because their vehicle had no registration number and they were “on random patrol.”

When asked for comment, IPID spokeswoman Ndileka Cola said the matter was still under investigation.

“The suspected members have yet to be identified,” Cola said.

When asked why it was taking so long to identify the police officers concerned, he said: “The investigation process takes time and I would like to urge you to allow the process to unfold and run its course.”

When asked if there were police cars patrolling the area that day, SAPS Western Cape spokesman Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said: “This is an IPID investigation, please send your inquiry to your spokesperson for comment.”

When asked how many police vehicles the Nyanga Police Station had, if any did not have license plates, and what records were kept of police vehicle activity, Rwexana said that there were procedures for using official vehicles, but the office did not have the freedom to share such information with the media.

“Siyasanga is not the only one, there are many people who were abused by police officers,” said Gijana’s uncle, Bahle Mphangeli.

“But we will never hear that they have been arrested for their actions, that is why they will continue to shoot or beat residents.”

He said he thought IPID was deliberately prolonging the investigation.

“They are doing it on purpose, the police officers just don’t randomly patrol. Even if that was the case, those who were patrolling in that area that day are known to sign papers before taking the police cars,” Mphangeli said. .

“I can’t let them get away with what they did to me,” said Gijana, who now takes painkillers.