- Eastern Cape police have come under fire after a 21-year-old man allegedly hacked his 43-year-old mother to death.
- The incident happened after the police allegedly failed to arrest the suspect when they were called.
- Instead of taking him to jail, the cops allegedly dropped him off on the way to the police station.
Eastern Cape
police have come under fire from villagers in the Great Kei Municipality after
a 21-year-old man allegedly hacked his 43-year-old mother to death on Tuesday.
The incident took place at Sotho Location in Mooiplaas, according to the police.
The victim's sister, Thobeka Ndzule, told News24 the incident happened the morning after the police were called to arrest the suspect after he allegedly drew a knife on his mother, Xoliswa Ndzule.
The police were called on that day to arrest the suspect and instead of taking him to jail they allegedly dropped him off on the way to the police station, said Monwabisi Njanya, the secretary of the SA Youth Council and a neighbour of the victim.
Thobeka said she was seeking legal opinion with an intention to press charges against the police.
"The police did not consult his mother. They just dropped him off. He returned later that day to fetch his clothes, telling us he was moving out to stay with his father.
"We were surprised to see him because we thought the cops had taken him. He left and returned for the second time the following morning, saying he came to fetch more clothes but became violent and demanded money from his mother," she added.
Njanya said: "The information we received is that, while they were returning to the station, the police officers asked the suspect if he had an alternative address to stay at. He told them he would stay at his father's, and they dropped him off. The next morning, that boy went back to his mother and fought with her. This is painful."
The Ward 3 ANC councillor in the Great Kei Municipality, Lwandisa Mhlontlo, said she would be meeting with the Mooiplaas police station's commander about the allegations of negligence levelled against the officers.
It is understood the mother and son, a suspected drug addict, got into an argument on the day of the incident after he demanded money from her, just days after she had reportedly given him R5 000 to buy clothes.
Drugs
He allegedly blew a chunk of it on drugs, News24 was told.
Njanya said drug and substance abuse was rife in Mooiplaas.
While residents added the man allegedly murdered the woman over drug money, the police said the motive for the murder would be revealed after the investigation was completed.
Police spokesperson Sibongile Soci said the man would appear in the East London Magistrate's Court on Thursday, facing a murder charge.
"SAPS members were alerted about the incident at about 10:15 yesterday morning [Tuesday] and rushed to Sotho Location, Mooiplaas. On arrival, they found the body of a 43-year-old woman with stab wounds in her upper body. The motive for the murder is unknown and forms part of the investigation," added Soci.
Mhlontlo said she visited the victim's family and spoke to her frail mother.
Pensioner
She added the pensioner was not in a good state and arranged for social workers to offer trauma counselling to her and the neighbours who witnessed the incident.
Mhlontlo said, together with other leaders in the municipality and ward, they had made many interventions over the scourge of drugs in the area.
"As the leadership in Ward 3 and Great Kei generally, we made many efforts concerning drugs and substance abuse. For example, recently, we had a prayer in partnership with the moral regeneration movement, where we were praying against gender-based violence and substance abuse. We also work with the community safety forum at Great Kei, but clearly we need to double our efforts."
Soci said criticism levelled against the police was regrettable and taken seriously.
"SAPS can confirm that police were called on Monday, 1 February 2021 to attend to a complaint where the deceased had a quarrel with the suspect at her place of residence. The deceased was advised to apply for protection order and she promised to visit the magistrate's court the next day [Tuesday], the day she was fatally stabbed by the suspect."
Njanya, a former ANC Youth League leader in the Dullar Omar branch in Cape Town, said since returning to his birthplace of Mooiplaas in 2018, together with other community leaders, they have chased out four drug lords so far.
"The youth are battling the scourge of drugs. This murder incident happens when we are in a process of launching an anti-drug campaign with Sanco [the SA National Civic Organisation] to encourage community engagement and rallying everyone behind the fight against drugs and crime," added Njanya.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that the mother did not have a protection order against her son at the time of her death.