By: Sello Theletsane
On Sunday, the late Nathaniel Julies was honoured in Eldorado Park with a monument and a tombstone.
Leaders and supporters of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) gathered with Julies’ family in the morning at the site near the police station where the 16-year-old Down’s syndrome child was killed by police on 26 August 2020.
The case enraged the community, who are still awaiting justice in the case of three police officers charged with the murder and defeating the ends of Justice. Bridget Harris, Julies’ mother, spoke of how she had always known her son was a special child and of how much she missed him and his smile. She thanked the PA and its president, Gayton McKenzie, for standing by her and the family, and for helping to honour the memory of her son two years after his passing.
PA deputy president Kenny Kunene spoke passionately about how the contribution of the coloured community to the apartheid struggle has been glossed over. He mentioned heroes like Ashley Kriel, Anton Fransch, and others, as well as how the Athlone Massacre is rarely acknowledged.
Kunene spoke of how the anger towards the police in Eldorado Park was underlined by the fact that the coloured community has often found itself last in line to benefit from the fruits of democracy, keeping the conditions of poverty, crime, and desperation in place.
PA president Gayton McKenzie, in his keynote address, challenged the police to do their jobs of keeping South African citizens safe from violent illegal immigrants terrorising communities, instead of shooting innocent children.
He called for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to finally start putting South Africans first.
He was critical of white people continuing to be blamed for South Africa’s problems. “Nearly three decades into democracy, it was high time for the democratic government to acknowledge that it had failed the people, and it was time for change.”
McKenzie, currently the Central Karoo District Mayor, announced that he would be running for SA president in 2024. Later, at the gravesite, McKenzie explained the symbolism of Nathaniel’s granite tombstone, which was engraved with the words: “Here lies the most innocent victim the police ever killed; he fell and we rose, and still we shall rise.”
The headstone with Nathaniel’s face on it was in the shape of a biscuit because Nathaniel loved biscuits. The truck on the base symbolised the abandoned vehicle that Nathaniel had put his bloody hands on after being struck by the police’s shotgun blast.
McKenzie recognised the tragedy that Nathaniel had loved the police and their blue lights.
