Durban - Sport and Recreation MEC Ntombiykayise Sibhidla-Saphetha has called on the police to leave no stone unturned in the investigation into the killing of rugby fan Brett Williams at Kings Park Stadium more than a week ago.
She said the culprits had to be brought to book and further urged witnesses to come forward with information that could assist police in their investigation.
Williams was beaten to death by five rugby fans at the stadium’s outer fields after a Sharks game.
Questions have been raised as to why the men – whose identity is known to the police – have not been arrested. They are believed to have struck a deal with police to hand themselves over this week.
Steve Williams – the victim’s uncle – said yesterday he believed that some mistakes had been made earlier in the investigation. He said that a detective had not been immediately dispatched to the crime scene, and the police had also not cordoned off the area.
Williams said, however, the police’s handling of the case had improved, with a provincial task team later appointed to investigate.
He said he had learnt that his nephew’s alleged killers were expected to hand themselves over to the police on Wednesday.
Private investigator Brad Nathanson said he had received about 30 e-mails all naming the same five suspects. He said that all the suspects were “youngsters in their early 20s”.
Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge confirmed that an offer had been made by the suspects’ legal representatives that they should hand themselves over to the police.
Mdunge said an arrest was meant to secure a suspect’s appearance in court. He said that the police also did not want to be hasty in their investigations because of public pressure.
Mdunge refused to say how many people are expected to be charged with Williams’s murder and would also not divulge when they are due to appear in court.
MEC Sibhidla-Saphetha said her department would engage with the Kings Park Stadium management to ensure that similar incidents are prevented.
Her spokesman, Mluleki Mntungwa, said the MEC was worried about the attacks because it had emerged that another person – a 20-year-old student from Durban North – had been beaten unconscious at the stadium a week before the attack on Williams.
Daily News