Mfuleni police have registered a murder case docket following the discovery of the body of an unknown man on an open field in Covid informal settlement, on Saturday 21 June. Provincial police spokesperson Sgt Wesley Twigg said the incident occurred at about 09:30.
“Officers attended the crime scene where they found the victim who was burnt lying on his stomach next to a vehicle. The victim was declared deceased on the scene by medical personnel. The motive for the attack forms part of the police investigation. The suspect/s are yet to be arrested,” said Twigg.
One of the residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, said the community is tired of crime.
He said there were four people in the vehicle and three of them managed to escape unharmed.
He claimed there were many unknown vehicles that drove around the area robbing people of their belongings and demanding money from the Somali-owned shops.
“Covid has changed now. A lot of things are happening here, especially crime. We heard about the cars that go around robbing people of their phones. They also demand money from the Somalis shops.
“This morning (Saturday 21 June) the community saw one of the vehicles and stopped it. While they were busy asking them where they came from some of the residents spotted the vehicle citing that it was just robbing them of their phones,” he explained.
He added that the vehicle and the driver were set alight by the community.
The resident highlighted robbery and extortion as some of the most common cases in the community.
“Covid is dangerous. People are robbed of their phones in the daylight. That is why the community takes the law into their own hands,” he said, adding that there is no police visibility.
