AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
IN the face of video evidence of individuals discharging firearms during the funeral of one of its MPs, the ANC has called on the police to investigate the matter, which it acknowledged was unlawful.
Individuals attending the funeral, in Soweto, of Kebby Maphatsoe, who was also a former deputy minister and chairperson of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association, discharged firearms, in violation of the law.
On Sunday, as speakers paid tribute to Maphatsoe, intermittent gunfire could be heard outside the tent.
Jessie Duarte, the ANC deputy secretary-general, in response to a question during a media conference, said:
“To fire a firearm in a built-up area anywhere is a criminal action and really, we do hope that they take firm and decisive action because it is wrong. It is not a mark of respect to shoot a gun into the air when you don’t know where that bullet is going to end up. While the act is synonymous with many township funerals, this doesn’t make it right. It is an illegal act and should be shunned by ANC members since there are so many people who have been killed by stray bullets.”
A gun was brandished inside the tent when a group disrupted a tribute by Gwede Mantashe, the ANC national chairman and Minister of Minerals and Energy.
There are allegations that more firearms were discharged at the West Park Cemetery, where Maphatsoe was buried. Police investigating allegations that a 75-year-old woman was injured by a stray bullet fired at the funeral.
