Relela: Who gave police the order to kill?

Protests in Relela following a gruesome murder last week have not calmed down, despite police commissioner Riah Phiyega's visit to the community.

Conditions in Relela village in Limpopo have deteriorated drastically since last week when the mutilated body of 20-year-old resident Kgomotso Rakgolane was found with her hands cut off and her cellphone and house keys inside her stomach

Angry Relela residents took to the streets demanding that police recover Rakgolane’s missing body parts so the woman could be buried and laid to rest. "What people are mad about is that they say they can't bury that girl [Rakgolane] with missing body parts," said Jeremiah Manyike, a local resident. "If they can find the body parts, there will be peace."

Violent demonstrations in the village were caused by the release of three people taken in by the police for questioning in connection with Rakgolane's murder. A crowd of community members set two houses, belonging to two of the questioned, on fire and were said to be on their way to light the third house when a confrontation with police resulted in gunfire.

A total of three people have been murdered in the ensuing riots, including an apparent passerby, 15-year-old Tshepo Baloyi who was killed by police gunfire as he came back from an errand for his family. Mohale Lithy Selowa and Mozere Molele (both 25) died on Tuesday afternoon after being shot by the police in a tense standoff with some community members. A crowd allegedly pelted the three-room satellite station with rocks and attempted to petrol bomb it.

The protests have drawn people from neighbouring communities such as Motupa, Moleketla, Mapitula and Bukuta.

Details around the shooting have been sharply disputed, with police spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi saying the police acted in defence as their lives were being threatened. Community members have called the deaths executions, pointing out that the two were allegedly shot outside on the street as opposed to near the police station's perimeter.

Police commissioner Riah Phiyega arrived in Relela on Wednesday afternoon where she addressed the media and community members. She praised the actions of the police, saying "public order, stability and law and order" were non-negotiable issues. "We have a duty as police to ensure that our duties are carried out without favour, fear and with no apology. The country has good laws and we must enforce those laws. That is non-negotiable." Nowhere in this world are people allowed to crowd a police station and plunder it. That's criminality."

During her public address, a young community member named Tonic asked Phiyega two distinct questions that she did not answer to the crowd's satisfaction: "Who gave police the order to kill our people?" and "Are we going to get the parts of Rakgolane's body before we bury her?". Phiyega repeated her comments about peaceful protests and ongoing police investigations. Her address was then aborted after the crowd grew impatient with her replies.

"Riah Phiyega ... has no experience in policing. What she says doesn't correlate with what is happening in the community," said Raymond Lefopha, a youth dressed in an Economic Freedom Fighters T-shirt. "Police shot people from outside the premises. They couldn't enter the gates as the police were there with guns. People were throwing stones from the outside. People ran away once they saw people lying down from gunshot wounds."

Other youths interviewed by the Mail & Guardian said one of the two men who died on Tuesday was murdered on the street, and the other behind a nearby shop. The situation continues.