6 November 2024
Luvuyo Vimba’s brother, Malusi Vimba (wearing a cap), and his uncle Elvis Mzolisa, after a briefing on his death in Cape Town on Tuesday. Photo: Sandiso Phaliso
The family of murdered taxi driver Luvuyo Vimba say they want those responsible for his death held accountable.
Vimba died after a clash with SA Police Service officers in the city centre on 1 November.
His brother Malusi told GroundUp the family had only been told of Vimba’s death this week.
“We received a phone call on Friday night that he was assaulted by the police after an altercation and we went to the police station but were prevented from seeing him. On Saturday we went again and could not see him, and on Sunday we were told he had been transferred to a hospital, but we were not told which hospital. It is only on Monday that we were told where to find him,” said Malusi.
He said the family would not rest until there had been a full investigation and a criminal case had been opened against those responsible.
At a briefing on Wednesday in Khayelitsha the spokesperson for the taxi association CODETA, Nceba Enge, said Vimba was a victim of police brutality.
He said videos showed officers strangling Vimba. GroundUp saw videos in which Vimba appears to have been assaulted.
City’s Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason told GroundUp that Law Enforcement had heard from SAPS that a gunshot had been fired in Strand Street in the city centre, and SAPS and Law Enforcement had gone to investigate and identified a suspect. “However, based on information at our disposal, bystanders and taxi drivers tried to run interference.” Dyson said Law Enforcement officers had provided “tactical cover” for the SAPS officers.
Dyason said Vimba was taken to the nearby railway police station by SAPS officers, and Law Enforcement officers remained on scene for about an hour, before departing.
He directed all further questions to SAPS.
SAPS spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said the incident was being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and he could not comment further.
IPID spokesperson Rabie Raburabu had not responded to questions by the time of publishing.