Almost three years ago, Len Cloete was shot in the head at a hotel in Muldersdrift, Gauteng, allegedly by a policeman.
The shooting incident that went viral on social media, has garnered much attention.
However, to date, no one has been charged in connection with the shooting.
At the time of the shooting, in November 2021, then spokesperson of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid), Grace Langa, said Cloete had allegedly been arguing with staff and management at the lodge and was asked to leave.
She said he refused, and security and the establishment manager followed him to the room and asked him to leave
“He became more aggressive. Police were called in to assist, and the guest started fighting with police.“
In a video of the incident that viral on social media, Cloete is seen shouting at police. He is naked at the start of the video but later puts on a pair of blue underpants.
He then disarms a police officer. Another cop at the scene fires a single shot that hits Cloete in the head. He falls to the ground.
Speaking to IOL this week, Mike Bolhuis from Specialised Security Company in Gauteng, said despite suffering brain damage, Cloete was in good health.
Lead investigator at SSS Security Services Luke Enslin said that Cloete was doing much better and he was still confined to a wheelchair.
“He will never be the same person that he was. Len is able to speak simple words like yes and no. He is able to show emotion and can get very emotionally attached to situations.”
The cases pertaining to Cloete with police and Ipid have not been finalised and IOL was told that they were still awaiting certain reports.
A year ago, in November 2023, Ipid spokesperson Phaladi Shuping told IOL that there was one report that was outstanding, and once the investigations were finalised, the docket would be handed over to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
This week Shuping said: “There is one report that is still outstanding, and once the investigations are finalised, the docket will be handed over to the National Prosecuting Authority for a decision.”
Shuping was unable to say which report was outstanding.
Mary de Haas, an advocate and an activist for political and human rights, said that the delay in the Cloete case was not unusual.
“Firstly which police officer shoots someone in the head to disarm a person?”
She said even if the police were in a threatening situation they have to be trained to deal with these situations.
“You should shoot to disarm.”
Speaking generally, De Haas said there have been cases of torture by police officers that have been reported in the last 10 years.
“Not a single prosecution has been done to date. In one of these cases a man died from suffocation.”
A legal expert, who preferred not to be identified, said the causes of the delay were systemic caused by high backlogs of matters that require attention from all over the country.
“The State does not have the capacity to build more laboratories and must consider using the Universities to step in to alleviate the backlogs as well.”
This is provided for in section 212(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.
IOL News