Cops silent on Nando's employee's killing

01 March 2016 - 08:23 By Aron Hyman

Five days after police opened fire on a taxi taking Nando's employees home - killing one woman and wounding another - investigators have yet to interview witnesses. The fast-food outlet has hired forensic investigator David Klatzow to help "try to understand how this could have happened".The shooting happened on Wednesday night while seven employees were being transported in a Toyota Avanza from the Sandown outlet in the Blouberg area to nearby Dunoon.Police claim officers opened fire on the taxi because it matched the description of a vehicle used in ATM bombings earlier that day. They claim they opened fire after the driver failed to stop.Nando's employee Phumeza Fudumele was shot dead. She is survived by two children, aged six and one.Fellow employee Zanele Dineka was shot in the leg. She said yesterday she was still in a lot of pain."I can't hear because of the bullets. I can't do anything. I'm very sick," she said.Klatzow said that after the employees had been shot, "the driver [of the Avanza] panicked and started running down the road. The cops ran after him firing shots, and hit two passers-by".He said the police had responded with "arrogance" to questions by Nando's.Nando's CEO Geoff Whyte said he was "surprised" that neither police nor the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, which is investigating whether there was police misconduct, had taken statements from the occupants of the vehicle."We are shocked and saddened at this incident, trying to understand how this could have happened," Whyte said."We are helping to get Zanele the best medical treatment and we've taken steps to look after Phumeza's two young children. We are setting up a trust in their name," he said.IPID spokesman Robbie Raburabu said information from the police was "sketchy" and the directorate was waiting for more information from the police.He said witnesses would be approached for statements by IPID in due course."All members involved will face both criminal and disciplinary measures," said Raburabu...

There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.

From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.

For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.

Already subscribed? Sign in below.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.