When I was close enough I immediately knew it was him. As soon I saw his shoes and the tracksuit he was wearing, I knew it was him, said the heartbroken mother of a 20-year-old man who was murdered last weekend.
When I was close enough I immediately knew it was him. As soon I saw his shoes and the tracksuit he was wearing, I knew it was him, said the heartbroken mother of a 20-year-old man who was murdered last weekend.
Zolani informal settlement resident Nomfundo Tshobo is devastated after her son, Melikhaya, was savagely beaten by a mob and killed.
When Grocott's Mail visited Tshobo on Monday, she was sitting around a fire with neighbours who had come to console her. She said the last time she had seen her son alive was on Friday afternoon.
Tshobo said her son had taken his friend's tracksuit and left the house, although he had refused to tell her where he was going.
Later on Friday night a girl in her neighbourhood came to Tshobo to tell her that Melikhaya was being chased by a mob. Apparently they were accusing him of breaking a window, but she told me that he had run to the direction of Extension 9, Tshobo said.
Melikhaya didn't come home and Tshobo was anxious on Saturday morning because of what had happened the previous night. While walking to town to collect her grant money, she had noticed a crowd gathered on Aiken Street, in the Albany Road area, and went to take a closer look.
This was when her worst fears were confirmed and she realised that it was her son that lay dead on the ground.
She told Grocott's Mail that she believes the culprits are people she knows from Zolani, who are also known by the community. She said they had accused Melikhaya of breaking a window while others said he had raped an old woman.
He was severely beaten and had a deep wound under his arm and another one on his mouth, the tearful mother said.
Police spokesperson Captain Mali Govender said the police are investigating a case of murder but have not made any arrests.
The police went to the scene and found the victim with several open wounds, she reported. Govender appeals to anyone with information about the case to phone the police on 046 603 9111.
