Police shot and killed a protected witness in South Africa’s Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in Cape Town on the morning of Tuesday. The National Prosecuting Authority of Western Cape confirmed the murder while protecting investigation facts until experts complete their work. “The deceased served as an official State witness, yet we cannot discuss which prosecution matter involves this witness during our investigation”, Mr Ntabazalila explained.
Social media users spread photos of the victim wearing white clothes at the court hallway bench but no one knows if that person was the real victim. The pictures show that the attacker targeted his weapon precisely because no blood spread around the head. The video footage shows the police response while armed officers exit afterward.
Since the court shooting all Western Cape judicial facilities have updated their security protection. The authority group will review security system protection to find if someone managed to break into a controlled space to hurt a witness. The criminal justice system performs worse because victims feel endangered when testifying in court.
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The police have no information about suspects or reasons so far, but the specific nature of the attack shows strong links to the trial where this victim served as a witness. The government has committed to looking deeply into what happened with the murder and how someone murdered the victim inside a secure facility.
