DURBAN - The family of a man who was fatally run over by an eThekwini municipal water tanker in Adams Mission, KwaZulu-Natal on Monday is demanding justice following the tragic incident.
Thirty-eight-year-old Celani Zungu was allegedly trying to stop a water tanker from delivering water to a single household, insisting that the limited supply should instead be shared with the wider community.
A culpable homicide case has been opened against the water tanker driver.
Residents say they have been without running water for months after infrastructure was damaged during the devastating 2022 floods.
"The truck arrived to deliver water to one of our neighbours, but the community believed it had come to supply everyone. An argument then broke out between residents and the water tanker driver," Zungu's brother Sakhile told eNCA.
He says the driver started pushing community members away with the truck.
"He reversed, and when he drove forward again, he ran over my brother.
"My brother had rushed from home to see what was happening. He was walking ahead of me when the driver knocked him down. After the truck ran over him the first time, we thought we could pull him out. But then the driver drove over him again, as seen in the video," Sakhile said.
City of eThekwini Mayor, Cyril Xaba, has described the incident as a tragic accident.
Xaba said they cannot speculate on the circumstances surrounding the incident, and as such, have handed the matter over to law enforcement for further probe.
Authorities have launched both a criminal investigation and an internal municipal probe into the incident.