Former SA Rugby Player Shot Dead By Police In USA
Former South African rugby player, Lindani Myeni, was shot dead by Honolulu police in Hawaii last week and his body is set to leave the USA on Tuesday and arrive in SA on Friday.
It is reported that the former Springboks player was shot four times by police officers responding to a “burglary in progress” at a home in Nuuanu, Hawaii.
In a briefing on Sunday, KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikala provided an update on efforts to return Myeni’s body to SA after a delegation led by the provincial director-general, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, visited his Empangeni home. Zikala said:
On Friday, the consul general in Miami, who is responsible for Ohio state, indicated that the American government has released the mortal remains of Mr Myeni to his wife and they are being stored at a local funeral parlour.
He said another meeting was held with the family on Saturday and they reported that a flight had been booked to depart the US on Tuesday and was set to arrive at OR Tambo International Airport, on Friday, April 30.
Zikalala said more details including confirmed funeral dates and memorial services would be confirmed.
Myeni’s widow, Lindsay and his two children were set to visit family in SA in June. Lindsay confirmed to TimesLIVE that she was now set to arrive in SA next week.
Taking to Facebook on Sunday, Linday shared pictures of an ANC placard demonstration under branded #blacklivesmatter calling for justice for Lindani and for police to return his cellphone. She said:
Lindani would be stunned that [the] EFF and ANC are writing about him now. This is just the beginning. The world will never be the same again. Release the 911 tapes, release the unedited footage, return the phone. Return the wedding ring, his umqhele headband, and his necklace. We are waiting.
Hawaii police last week released limited bodycam footage of two of the three police officers who responded to the incident.
His family is preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit. The former South African rugby player moved to the USA with his family this January.
More: Pindula News; TimesLIVE
