“She shot me at close range – I was within centimetres of her”

    Bongeka Mntaka is a student from UKZN who was shot at close range by a police officer as she attempted to enter her Howard College residence while protests raged around her. She described the incident to The Daily Vox.

    I was meeting up with my group at campus because we had to prepare for a presentation. We were supposed to present today so we were to meet at the law library. But there was a strike and students were protesting, so they were throwing stones at us. Then we decided to go meet at a safer place, at the park close to the law building because we didn’t want to humiliate ourselves at the presentation – so we had to practice. But then things just went out of control and we decided to part ways.

    When I was going back to my residence – I stay on campus – one of the female police officers told me to go the other way, not towards the way I was heading in. So I listened to her and started walking the other way. Then she started shouting at me, telling me again to walk the other way. But I told her I was following her orders and walking that way. Like really, what did she want from me?

    That’s when she just got angry and shot me. At close range. The two bullets got stuck in my leg. She was within very close range – as in I could have reached out to her and touched her with my arm. Not metres apart, but centimetres away from me.

    One of the guys carried me to a safe place, but as he was carrying me, police were shooting at us. My friend from the group I was working with took me to the hospital.

    She shot me just below my knee. The doctors extracted the bullet from my leg and said that I had severe muscle damage. My leg is currently wrapped up and I’m in crutches now as a result.

    UKZN bongeka leg shot stitches

    I’ve filed a report with the SRC and the I’ve made a statement with the police on the incident – although it was a police officer herself who shot me.

    Featured image via @SiyaNyulu on Twitter.