Body of wheelchair-bound man found in Khayelitsha garage

Cape Town – Mystery shrouds the death of a wheelchair-bound man found lying next to an ATM in a Site C garage, Khayelitsha.

The body was found on Friday morning by people on their way to work.

Community activist Zola Sigwinti said residents could not live in a society that turned a blind eye to crime, adding that fed-up residents denounced the incident.

“The man is said to be living within the area but people don’t say where exactly. When I arrived at the scene it seems like the man was choked because there is no blood whatsoever.

“The man seems not to be the kind of person you would rob money from or rob expensive things from. It’s just people who were taking chances because he is wheelchair-bound. Why would anyone go and kill a wheelchair-bound person who has no means to protect him or herself,” said Sigwinti.

Anyone with information about the incident can anonymously contact Crime Stop on 0860010111 or SMS Crime Line on 32211.

Meanwhile Mpumalanga police have condemned acts of vigilantism in which two suspected criminals were killed while three others sustained severe injuries in Lydenburg.

Police had received information about a group of people who were assaulting two men at Extension 8 in Mashishing on May 4.

“They responded and upon arrival found two men lying on the ground, badly injured. Emergency services personnel were notified about the incident and on arrival, one of the victims, a 31-year-old man was certified dead, while the other, a 23-year-old was taken to hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries,” said police spokesperson Leonard Hlathi.

Three more suspects who were also assaulted by the mob were admitted in hospital. No one has been arrested.

Police have warned residents to stop taking the law into their own hands, urging people to report crime and allow the law to take its course.

“Vigilantism will not be tolerated nor accepted as a way of addressing issues relating to crime, anyone found to have taken part in such acts, will be arrested and face the full might of the law,” said acting police commissioner Thulani Phahla.

Cape Times