Former president Nelson Mandela was completely shocked to learn about the shoot-out outside his Bishopscourt house in Cape Town on Tuesday that claimed the life of an attacker, said his spokesperson Zelda le Grange.
Mandela was not home at the time.
Le Grange said the safety of Mandela, his family and staff were paramount and that the police were investigating the matter.
National police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Selby Bokaba said three men driving a red Fiat Uno appeared outside Mandela’s house sometime after 5pm, asking if it was the residence of Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
”The three men walked to the gate and spoke to an official who told them it was not Tutu’s house, but they insisted it was. The men said they needed to speak to Tutu or Madiba, claiming they had information about people planning to disrupt the upcoming elections.”
The official radioed for his superiors. The men walked back to their vehicle. When the official and his superiors returned, the man standing at the gate ran towards the car and returned with an R5 rifle.
”He tried to cock the rifle and aimed it at the officials standing at gate, opening fire at them. The officials returned fire and the man was shot dead.”
Bokaba said the officials chased the red Uno and apprehended the other two men. They are in police custody and are being questioned. The dead man’s identity could not be revealed until his next-of-kin had been informed. No one else was injured during the incident. The motive for the incident was unknown.
Bokaba said there had been no threat against the former president. He was noncommittal on whether police were going to beef up security around Mandela’s house. – Sapa