A 23-year-old Zimbabwean man who was allegedly shot dead by a South African soldier at Limpopo River was buried in Bulawayo on Friday.
Mduduzi Mbulelo Mlilo was reportedly assisting border jumpers and smugglers at an illegal crossing point on 02 April when the soldier shot him once in the breast, killing him instantly.
Mlilo was among a group of 16 smugglers who were intercepted by South African soldiers at an illegal crossing point.
His body was taken to Tshilidzini Mortuary in Limpopo Province where it was kept pending police investigations.
The soldier who shot him has since been arrested and charged with murder and is set to stand trial at the Musina Regional Court on 15 May.
Mduduzi’s father, Dubayi Mlilo, told the Chronicle that his son was buried at Luveve cemetery. He said:
This is devastating; my son was killed just like that. If they were really implementing the law, they could have arrested him and taken him to court.
We have had an update from the police and we will follow the case with interest.
We are quiet saddened by this incident and we hope he will get justice.
Mlilo said according to witnesses, Mduduzi was shot while assisting people to smuggle an assortment of goods, mainly onions.
He said he was told that the soldier jumped from a vehicle and opened fire at Mduduzi while standing on the river bank.
He then fell into the water and his body was later retrieved and taken to the mortuary around 8 PM after lying on the riverbed for almost six hours.
On 15 February this year, a member of the South African Border Guard shot and killed a Zimbabwean man at Beitbridge Border Post.
The man was allegedly shot for reprimanding the Border Guards for assaulting an old woman who was picking up empty cans and plastic containers for recycling.
The incident occurred at the foot of the New Limpopo Bridge (NLB) on the South African side of the border at around 4 AM.
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