Cape Town - The uncle of the 14-year-old boy who was murdered in Masiphumelele has described his horror after finding the teenager’s body.
Monde Pula told the Cape Argus he usually went straight home after working the night shift and would normally find his nephew, Amani Pula, getting ready for school.
But he made a grim discovery on Tuesday morning. “After work on Tuesday I went to run some errands, and when I got home I found the door open, which was strange because Amani is (usually) at school at that time and his mother is at work.”
Pula said he walked into a messy house with his nephew lying on a sofa.
His hands were tied behind his back.
“I called his name but he didn’t respond and when I touched him his body was still and he was half naked and I knew then he was dead.”
Pula said the family was still traumatised and could not understand why anyone would want to target his nephew, because he was a good boy.
“Amani was a very sweet boy who loved school, and related to everyone in the area.
“We will miss him and how he would correct everyone who didn’t speak English correctly.”
undefinedFollowing Amani’s murder, a group went on the rampage in Masiphumelele on Tuesday night, allegedly killing a man and then stoning police.
Residents said they were protesting at the lack of an effective police presence in the area. One said that the killing had sent a warning to other criminals.
Police spokeswoman Constable Noloyiso Rwexana said the protest resulted in a police van being set alight, and police discovered the body of an unidentified man not far from the burnt vehicle. The man was allegedly killed in a mob justice incident.
“Public order policing members entered the area in an effort to stabilise the situation.”
Community leader Lunga Mathambo said what happened to Amani was painful. “It’s very painful what happened to the young man, not only for his family but the whole community.
“The anger of the community led to them taking their frustrations out on Tuesday night, but at the moment we don’t know how they connected the man they killed to Amani’s murder.”
He said the police were failing the community, so the frustrated residents went on the rampage.
The city council’s director for safety and security, Richard Bosman, said the teenager’s murder angered the community and they demanded justice.
Bosman said the city council received requests on Tuesday night to assist the police. “We directed our staff trained in crowd management to Masiphumelele.”
Cape Argus