A well-known man from Tulbagh was senselessly murdered on Sunday morning.
According to the Tulbagh police, Siyamthanda Dastile was stabbed when walking home from a friend’s place at 05:00.
“He lived in Roussouw Street in the Chris Hani Informal Settlement and was walking home when his assailants attacked. At this stage of the investigation we are not sure where exactly the incident occurred as he went back to his friend’s place after being stabbed twice in his left leg,” explained a spokesperson for the Tulbagh police.
He was later taken by ambulance to the Ceres Hospital, where he died.
“On reaching his friend’s place, the latter saw he was bleeding but did not take it too seriously,” the spokesperson said. “But he had lost a lot of blood as he was stabbed in one of his main arteries. The hospital informed us at 09:00 on Sunday morning that we needed to come to the hospital as he had succumbed to his wounds.”
Police still did not know what had led to the attack and fatal stabbing.
“No arrests had yet been made, but we are following up on all the relevant information received and gathered,” the spokesperson said.
A slew of messages of disbelief and sympathy has been shared on Facebook as Dastile was involved in various community projects and organisations.
“It is very sad and difficult to share the news of the death of one of our former learners, Siyamthanda Dastile,” one Facebook post read. “We as Waveren Primary School staff would like to share our deepest condolences to his loved ones in this difficult and sad time. May God cherish you against His bosom and comfort you. We and the Tulbagh community have truly lost a star and stalwart.”
Another Facebook user wrote: “Siyamthanda Dastile is a gentle, religious and service-minded enthusiast who has manned many fronts of community service at Tulbagh. Always full of laughter and sparkle, he was long involved with child care, aid schemes, promotion of the arts and other platforms of welfare and support, but yesterday he was robbed and killed by jackals. The shock of it is great and without understanding or comfort. Sorry, Siya. Lord, that’s so cruel. Sorry. And thanks for your spirit and benevolent care.”
Standard spoke to Dastile’s aunt, Xoliswa Dastile. “Siyamthanda was a good child. He helped the community a lot, especially the children, to create a better life for them. The family is heartbroken to have lost him. In this family he was a star and always helped them whenever they needed it. It is not easy to lose him like this. The community came to sympathise with us and cried. He was also so happy to lend a helping hand to people. He was a soft-spoken person and is irreplaceable. God alone knows why this happened.”
