An officer approaches the young boy, towers over him, and fires three rubber bullets at his face
An officer approaches the young boy, towers over him, and fires three rubber bullets at his face
A young teenager was shot in the mouth during yesterday’s Hout Bay protests: The shocking police brutality is enough to make your blood boil.
Immediately, we’re obliged to warn you of the graphic content in this video featuring at the bottom of the article.
Ona Dubula, 14, is seen hiding behind a barricade in footage captured by Hout Bay Photography. As police advance down the street, an utterly unstable officer opens fire with rubber bullets on the young lad.
Ona then staggers to the side of the road. He’s bleeding from the mouth and clearly distressed. No police officers so much as attempt to console or help the boy: That was left to the camera crews, who pleaded with authorities to send an ambulance.
His distraught mother, Pink Dubula, gave an update on the situation when she spoke to the TimesLive from Groote Schuur Hospital:
“The white officer came again and shot in the mouth. There were two bullets in his mouth. He managed to remove one but the other is still stuck under his tongue.”
What are Hout Bay residents protesting?
Protests flared up in the Hangberg area early yesterday. A culmination of social issues and flash-points have driven Hout Bay locals to the end of their tethers.
Some residents are vehemently oppossed to the decreased allocation of fishing quotas available to their community. They claim it will have a severe effect on the local economy.
Others, however, were rallying against a lack of service delivery. Citizens, particularly in the Imizamo Yethu area, feel like they have been abandoned by local government.
This follows the fires that engulfed the area back in the Autumn. Locals feel there has been little to no reinvestment in a community that’s lost homes and livelihoods.
