'Friendly fire' death? Cop's kin to be told

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT 

Constable Tshepo Tladi's family's agonising eight-month wait for answers might finally come to an end this week.

Tladi was shot and killed while responding to a robbery with colleagues in Katlehong, southeast of Johannesburg, in January.

The police initially said Tladi was killed by robbers, but CCTV footage obtained by The Times days after the robbery revealed Tladi was apparently shot in the back of the head by a colleague.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate spokesman Moses Dlamini confirmed yesterday that the docket had been sent to the NPA and said the wait was due to a delay in the ballistic report.

But while families of fallen members of the police gathered in Pretoria on Sunday to commemorate the fallen, Tladi's sister, Tshidi, said the event didn't help much with relieving her pain.

"We don't feel okay. We still don't sleep. Nothing has changed because we are still waiting for answers," she said.

"I went to the commemoration yesterday. But it doesn't help us much. I think for the other families, they got some closure, but we are still waiting for answers."