Whilst Knysna police are still investigating the tragic murder of a man in Sedgefield yesterday (Tuesday, 24 Jan), there is speculation that his death was the result of mob justice.
At around 7 am, residents of Disa and Agapanthus streets heard much shouting and screaming as a group of between ten and fifteen men chased another man as he ran from the dune stairs, down Aloe Street and onto Disa Street.
One resident (name withheld) was out walking with children in the area but quickly returned home on seeing the angry crowd running towards them along the road.
When the noise had subsided, another resident (name withheld) went to the scene to investigate the reason for the commotion and discovered a body on an empty plot in Agapanthus Street. By this time, the crowd had disappeared.
The resident contacted Sedgefield’s SAPS office, and members came to the scene to investigate.
In answer to our enquiries about the incident, Media Information Officer Sergeant Chris Spies said that the officers had received the alert at approximately 07:20 and were informed that a group had fatally assaulted a man by hurling stones and bricks at him.
“Upon arrival, they found the body of a man, believed to be in his early thirties, with several wounds inflicted to his head,” he stated, adding that after paramedics had declared the man dead on the scene, a murder docket was opened.
Whilst circumstances surrounding this incident are under investigation, and the motive for the killing is yet to be formally established by SAPS, reliable sources have reported that minutes before his death, the man had attacked another man on the stairway that leads over the dune, stabbing him in the arm in an attempt to rob him. Thereafter, his injured victim had reportedly given chase, with at least ten others joining him along the way – hence the shouting that ensued.
Residents in the area described how, in a seemingly desperate effort to escape the angry mob, the man had run into a property on Disa Street, then started jumping from garden to garden, over walls and fences. However, he was unable to elude his pursuers for too long as they caught up with him on Agapanthus Street.
It is unknown if anyone – other than those chasing him – witnessed the fatal assault on the man, so who and how many men took part will be left to SAPS to investigate.
At time of going to press, the name of the deceased had not been released, and those responsible for his death were still at large.
