The community of Vygieskraal insists the army is responsible for the death of a 15-year-old girl last week.
The SA National Defence Force last week denied being in the area on Sunday, 12 January, the night Celeste Carelse was shot while sitting in a car.
But this week, members of the community produced video footage, showing armed soldiers in the Athlone informal settlement
better known as The Vlei.
Residents claim after the fatal shooting, soldiers could be seen picking up bullet casings.
The video shows soldiers walking in the street and dragging a man.
Celeste, who was due to start Grade 9 at Athlone High School this year, had been with a friend inside a car when she was shot three times.
The teen from Belgravia was rushed to a hospital but passed away.
KILLED: Celeste Carelse, age 15
Residents of The Vlei claim soldiers were searching for suspects and were beating up men when the shots rang out.
Celeste’s family said they were not prepared to speculate on who is responsible for her death until the police investigation is
complete.
Her hartseer aunt, Samantha Petersen, 33, says: “We still heard the gunshots and didn’t even know that she was shot.”
SANDF directed queries to SAPS, saying “it’s a police matter”.
Police spokesperson, Siyabulela Malo, confirmed the girl’s shooting but did not respond to queries about SAPS or the army’s presence in the area.
Residents of The Vlei contacted the Daily Voice this week, saying they witnessed Celeste’s death and refuse to be blamed for the
murder.
Chadwick Dondash, 23, says he was standing next to the car when Celeste was shot.
EYEWITNESS: Chadwich Bondash says he saw Celeste Carelse being shot in car. Video: Genevieve Serra
“I was coming out of the shebeen when someone shouted that the army is on the way,” he says.
“I saw the army, the soldiers in the street.
“There was a red car in the street that my friend was in.
“There were two girls in the car, Celeste and a pregnant girl and I spoke to them.
“My friend began to reverse when he saw the army.
“ Toe skiet die army bra van die pad af, hy skiet haar in die rug.
“At that moment the other
soldiers shouted we must staan vas and freeze. They continued shooting at the car.”
“The pregnant girl wanted to jump out but I jumped in front of her and pushed her back and I was in the car with them and I told my friend to drive. I was shot skrams in the leg.
“The army shot on the car because they thought they were the people they were looking for.”
Elroy November, 30, says soldiers moered him but he got away and hid in the canal.
MOERED: Elroy November claims the army beat him with their rifle and had to jump in the canal to get away in Vygie. Picture: Jack Lestrade
“They dragged me and kicked me and when I could not anymore, I hid in a pipe in the canal until the next
morning,” he says, showing the wounds on his body.
Resident Christine Dirks, 53, claims soldiers waterboarded her husband, Marcus Dirks, 61: “They tortured him and another man and put cloth over their faces and threw water over them. They took away my husband’s asthma pump and beat him so much that his ribs were bruised and he had to go to hospital.”
The Daily Voice sent the video to SANDF yesterday but did not receive a response.
Vygieskraal residents say they don't feel safe. Video: Genevieve Serra
On 15 January, SANDF spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini denied their role in the incident: “The SANDF has never received any record of official reports form our deployed elements confirming such an incident, and we would like to state clearly that these claims have not even been verified nor confirmed by SAPS as the lead organisation in this operation.
“We can confirm that none of the defence force elements were involved in an operation at Vygieskraal on the said day, and at no given time did the SANDF members get involved in a shootout with gangster groups in Athlone.”
Video showing soldiers walking in the street and dragging a man.
Video shows soldiers walking in the street and dragging a man. Video: Genevieve Serra
