Northgate Mall drug death drama

Johannesburg - A suspected drug dealer dropped dead in the middle of Northgate Mall on Wednesday night with the police in hot pursuit.

When the news emerged that the man had died, an angry crowd gathered and accused the police of killing him.

According to the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), the man, identified as Ebukayi Onyeyewgo, was driving suspiciously. The police stopped him outside the mall at 8pm.

JMPD spokesman chief superintendent Wayne Minnaar said officers found drugs in the car.

“A male jumped out of the vehicle and ran into the centre, where we believe he swallowed the drugs he was carrying and fell down dead,” he said.

Police spokesman Captain Mack Mngomezulu said: “As they were chasing him, he started to swallow the tablets. When they caught him, he was weak and asked for water. He passed away.”

Minnaar said there would be both a police investigation and an internal inquest, as well as an autopsy to establish the cause of death.

Onyeyewgo’s brother, Gabriel, however, called Talk Radio 702 on Wednesday night with a different version of how his brother died.

According to Eyewitness News, Gabriel said JMPD officers suffocated him with a plastic bag when he refused to pay a bribe after drugs were found in his possession.

Minnaar would not comment on the allegations by family members.

“This will come out in the investigations,” he said.

A security officer at the mall backed up the JMPD’s claim that the man died after swallowing the drugs during a chase with officers.

Londoloza Protection Group’s tactical reaction officers said they responded to the incident after receiving reports of a large crowd that had gathered after the man’s death.

Spokesman Danielle Dooley said the reaction officers were on standby to monitor the situation and look after the mall’s property.

“An angry group of people gathered at the scene after word of the man’s death spread.

“Londoloza’s officers were on the scene until the crowd left,” she said.

The Northgate Mall spokeswoman was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.