Kimberley - An 82-year-old man was hacked to death at his home in Longlands, while his dog was found lying dead next to his body during the early hours of on Wednesday morning.
It is believed that the eight-week-old puppy was kicked and stomped to death, while eyewitnesses stated that the deceased’s throat was slit.
The deceased, Leonard Sibiya, had been living alone in a lorry bin behind some unused mining dumps for a number of years, following the death of his wife.
No one has been arrested for the murder yet.
Police spokeswoman, Colonel Priscilla Naidu, said the deceased’s face was hacked with an unknown sharp instrument.
“The man’s body was found lying outside his shanty. According to the police, neighbours found the bloody body slumped at his door at about 7am on Wednesday morning.”
A friend of the deceased, Frank Williams, said that he found Sibiya lying with his face on the ground.
“I usually brought firewood and water in a 25-litre container for him every day so that he did not need to carry heavy buckets of water from the river. It was a huge shock for me because he is a peace-loving man who never bothered anyone. He lived there with his chickens and his puppy. I shared whatever I had with him because he was not working and I often spent time talking to him because he was living alone.”
Dora Pienaar, Sibiya’s only daughter, said she had last seen her father on Saturday.
“He asked me to collect his clothes so that I could do his laundry. I told him that I did not want to go there alone because I never feel safe there. While I don’t usually see suspicious characters roaming around, you can never be sure who is lurking behind those mine heaps. It was such a cruel and unnecessary death. My father’s puppy followed him wherever he went.”
She added that none of her father’s chickens appeared to have been stolen.
“My father lived a simple life where he used firewood to keep himself warm and to cook his food.”
Members of the community believe that the suspects who killed Sibiya were looking for his old age grant money that he drew on April 20, although they found nothing on him.
“Someone fetches him to collect his pension money every month.”
Other community members blamed the use of drugs in the area.
“These drug dens need to be removed because the youngsters that take drugs do not know what they are doing and steal from defenceless people in order to feed their habit.”
The police are appealing to the community to assist them in their investigation of the murder.
Anyone with information is requested to contact Detective Warrant Officer Christian Hawkins at the police station in Delportshoop or call him on 082 448 4850.
Any information will be treated with strict confidence.
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