By Kaya 959 News
Friends of slain South African rugby player Lindani Myeni hope to raise $100 000 to bring home his remains so he can be buried in his home country. The fundraiser was started by Seabelo Silitshena and has already raised just more than $19 000.
As per the Go Fund Me page description, “We are fundraising to cover his transportation back home to South Africa, funeral costs and legal fees involved in the family’s plight to uncover the circumstances surrounding his death.”
Silitshena described Myeni as a “gentle, healthy man whose deep love for his family was seconded by a passion for his homeland and Zulu culture.”
“A former professional rugby player, Rio Tinto mechanical engineer, former top 25 on South African idols and camp scouts director, Lindani Sanele Myeni had an ever-present smile as big as he was and belonged to a royal bloodline. He is survived by his wife and two children,” Silitshena said.
Scuffle with police leads to shooting
Myeni’s family is calling for the City of Honolulu to release all the unedited bodycam footage from the police officers who responded to the scene.
Myeni was shot by police following a scuffle outside a home in Hawaii last Wednesday. According to reports, police responded to a 911 call about a burglary in Nuuanu.
Hawaii Police Chief Susan Ballard said Myeni walked into the house and was erratic.
She said he sat down, took off his shoes and was trying to speak to the homeowners but they were upset and Myeni left the house. He was standing outside when police arrived.
Ballard told reporters that one of the officers ordered Myeni to lie down but he did not and a scuffle ensued resulting in the officers firing shots, wounding Myeni.
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Myeni’s wife calls for justice
He was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.
Myeni’s wife, Lindsay has called for justice for her husband’s death. In an emotional post on Facebook, she demanded answers.
“…cops had shot him four times. How can you justify that?! What happened in 18 minutes? What do I tell my babies when they cry for him?
He has my heart. I will never find a perfect love like him. He was indescribable. He’d grown into a noble man. Righteous but not self-righteous. Loving and wise. He was too good for this broken world. He was born at Queen Nandi hospital and passed at Queen Emma’s Hospital.
We need justice. They must release the body cams and show us what happened. Why are three trained officers afraid of one unarmed man? They just left me a widow at 29 with two babies in diapers you gotta be f kidding me,” she posted.
According to Hawaii News Now, Myeni’s family attorney, Luke Korkowski, said while he is not blaming the officers for their actions, the problems were with the department itself.
“Don’t make him out to be a villain and don’t make the officers out to be villains either. Because my suspicion here is that the officers were poorly trained, that the fault here lies at the feet of HPD,” Korkowski said.
He added that he was disappointed in the way HPD is handling the case.
