Nathaniel Julius: South African Police Arrested for Killing a Teen

Two South African policemen have been arrested for the deadly shooting of a 16-year-old boy, which sparked violent street protests.

The family of Nathaniel Julius, who had Down syndrome, said he was out shopping for cookies when he was shot and killed in the Johannesburg suburb of Eldorado Park.

The officers will be charged with murder and “possibly defeating the ends of justice,” the police watchdog said.

The family said Julius was shot after failing to answer officers’ questions.

However, they added, this was due to his disability.

Police initially said Julius had been caught in a shootout between officers and local gangsters.

The Independent Police Investigation Directorate (Ipid) said it had decided to arrest the officers after “careful consideration of the available evidence.”

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After Julius’ death on Wednesday night, hundreds of local residents took to the streets to protest Thursday, sparking violent clashes with the police.

Police used rubber bullets and stun grenades to disperse stone-throwing protesters who had blocked the streets with burning barricades.

The clashes prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to call for calm.

South African police are often accused of using excessive force: Security forces have been accused of killing at least 10 people this year while enforcing a blockade imposed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

“There is no evidence of any provocation and it is difficult to understand why live ammunition could be used in a community like this,” Archbishop Malusi Mpumlwana, head of the South African Council of Churches, told local media outside the Julius house.

“We can’t say Black Lives Matter in America if we don’t say it in South Africa,” he said.

The death of Nathaniel Julius has shocked many, not only in South Africa but also around the world.

Here in South Africa, your community is outraged – they want not just answers, but justice.

But South Africans are sadly used to being defrauded by the justice system, no matter how many times they protest, no matter how many times stories of gruesome violence make the local and even international news.

Even in the face of these arrests, few are encouraged for anything to change. This resignation to violence is one of the great tragedies of this society.