Lindani Miyeni, moments before he was shot by Honolulu police

By Naadiya Adams

New footage has been released in the Lindani Myeni murder investigation showing that Myeni was in no way aggressive and had in fact apologised to the couple before heading back to his car – it seemed he had mistaken the house for a temple which was in the area and had a similar driveway.

In footage released previously, police can be heard shouting at Myeni to lay down on the ground while he repeatedly asks “Who are you?”, the officers failed to identify themselves as police before tasing him and eventually shooting him.

Myeni family lawyer, Jim Bickerton, revealed that the court ordered officials to hand over the unedited police body camera footage as well as the 911 calls from the night Myeni died.

Bickerton said they had received the full unedited body cam footage for the period of time following the shooting and were still processing it. Police had attempted to stop the release of the doorbell footage, but failed.

“We are fortunate to have the recordings linked. With modern recording technology, doorbell videos and body cams, the public can see what has been going on and we hope this technology will help bring such police conduct to an end.”

“The police defence that ‘we have to react quickly to dangerous situations’ makes little sense when they create the danger and the urgency by failing to follow standard procedures, which include identifying yourself and your police purpose when you command someone at gunpoint,” he said.

The recently released footage from the doorbell is roughly 3 minutes long and shows Myeni entering a home in Honolulu, Hawaii on an evening in April, right behind a man and a woman – who seemed to be confused by Myeni’s presence at their doorstep.

He stops to take off his shoes and then enters, he is also seen wearing a traditional African headband which he used to wear when he went entered a spiritual place according to Bickerton.

He is in the house for about 40 seconds before he is seen leaving, he can be heard saying “sorry” before putting on his shoes and walking back to his car.

His visit, however, sent the woman into a frenzy and she called 911, police arrived within minutes and began their assault on Myeni, who at the time was not aware he was dealing with police – three unidentified men attacked Myeni, tased him, and shot him – he pulled into the driveway at 08:07 and by 20:20 he was shot and taken to hospital where he later died.

The search for the truth continues, Myeni’s wife Lindsay has opened a case of wrongful death against the Honolulu Police Department, she believes her husband’s killing was racially fuelled. Myeni’s body was repatriated to South Africa and he was buried in Kwa-Zulu-Natal. The former rugby player lived in Hawaii with his wife and their two children.