Pretoria - The City of Ekurhuleni has committed to helping with the transportation of the body and burial of the late Mozambican national and taxi driver, Mido Macia.
Macia died last week after being dragged by a police van and then allegedly beaten to death in Daveyton. In an amateur video that has since gone viral on YouTube, Macia is seen tied to the back of a South African Police Service (SAPS) vehicle and dragged down the street.
He was allegedly dragged from the police van for about 400m. He later died in police custody.
He will be buried back home in Mozambique on Saturday. Eight policemen have since been arrested and will appear in court for the second time on Thursday.
“We have engaged with the family and after listening to their grievances, we have concluded that as a humanitarian gesture, the city cannot just fold its arms when there is a family in distress in the area.
“We have therefore decided to facilitate and assist in the transportation and burial of the deceased through the mayoral discretionary funds,” said mayoral spokesman Zweli Dlamini.
Dlamini said the municipality viewed the incident as “extremely shocking and one that has scarred the community very deeply”.
“Having said that, we appreciate the understanding of the people of Daveyton. In some instances, there would have been serious violence as a result of such an incident, but the community here has been protesting in a dignified manner - something which is commendable,” Dlamini said, emphasising the call for peace in the township, now that the matter is in the hands of the Justice Department. – SAnews.gov.za
