A 19-year-old man was fatally stabbed in Sir Lowry’s Pass on Friday (29 July).
According to Somerset West police, the deceased, identified as Peter Wildschut, ran into a house in Mataung Street around 21:00 when chased by a group of men.
“The deceased was stabbed several times and succumbed to multiple wounds on the scene,” said Sergeant Suzan Jantjies, Somerset West police spokesperson. “The motive for the murder is still unknown.”
Three suspects, aged 20, 22 and 24 were apprehended following the incident and appeared in the Somerset West Magistrates’ Court on charges of murder on Monday (1 August).
Somerset West police station commander Colonel Jacolize Fleischmann expressed being confident that more arrests are imminent. She commended the investigating officer for the swift arrests.
The incident follows numerous recent stabbings that have plagued the community.
The life of 41-year-old Thobile Titise was claimed in an incident which occurred in the Rasta Camp informal settlement on Thursday 28 April (“Wife witness to husband’s murder,” DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, 4 May).
Hlumisa Xaki (17) was stabbed to death outside a shop on the corner of Nieuland Road and Magwebu Street on Tuesday 15 February (“Teenager’s murder shakes community,” 17 February).
Emile Stewart (23) was the victim of a stabbing at an “unauthorised” party last December (“Jong man doodgesteek,” 9 December 2021).
Ellen Myburgh, a Sir Lowry’s Pass community activist, expressed her shock following the latest incident.
“Children from our community are trapped in a world of crime,” Myburgh said. “It starts with the way in which they are raised. Many are raised in an atmosphere of abuse in this community, but we really need to ask ourselves what we are doing about it.
“We cannot just send these children back home, because their homes are no less turbulent than anywhere else.”
Myburgh added that one cannot simply put the blame for what is happening squarely on the police, for they are not the source of the social ills that exist.
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Anyone with more information on the Wildschut murder can contact the investigating officer, detective Sgt Warren Pietersen, on 021 850 1346.
