Police shoot 'hands-up' journalist after chase

Zimbabwean-born journalist Godknows Nare was a hard-working and dedicated father, says his widow, Silibele Khumalo.

Nare, 40, died in a hail of bullets in what appears to have been a shootout with the police last week near his home in Florida, on the West Rand. The shooting is being probed by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).

"It's very difficult," said Khumalo. "I told the two older kids [aged 10 and six] but I haven't told the little one. I don't know if they understand."

She said her husband loved his family. "He was hard-working and dedicated. The only thing he loved more than the church and his job was his family," she said, sitting between Nare's mother, Bokang Moyo, and his sister, Patience Maphosa, in their home.

Nare, who has worked as a journalist and fixer for local and international news organisations - including the SABC's Special Assignment, eNCA, BBC, Al Jazeera and the New York Times - was shot outside his sister's home, a few blocks from his own home.

Johannesburg metro police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said officers responding to reports of a hijacked car spotted a vehicle at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Hull Street in Florida. The occupants of the car, he said, started shooting at the police, who returned fire.

"One person was killed and one arrested," he said.

But Ipid spokesman Moses Dlamini said initial reports indicated otherwise.

"The allegations were that the police were watching this vehicle, which they suspected was stolen."

Initial reports said the police pursued a car that they suspected had been stolen and shots were fired from the vehicle.

"Police returned fire and one person was killed. We now know Godknows Nare was the person."

Dlamini said contrary to initial reports, there was no evidence to substantiate claims that the vehicle's occupants had shot first.

"Preliminary investigations indicate that there was no shooting from the car but all versions must be investigated."

Nare's wife and his brother, Thabiso Mnyandu, said they were told the police fired 10 shots at Nare, with four hitting him.

"After they shot at his car's wheels he lost control and crashed. When he got out, he had his hands up and he was shot three times," said Mnyandu. "That's what we've been told."

Award-winning journalist and author Julian Rademeyer, who had worked with Nare, described him as a fearless and professional journalist.