Durban – A MEREBANK woman was strangled to death during a home invasion yesterday.
According to the police, it is alleged that at 8.30am, two men entered a house on Alwar Road in Merebank and killed the 57-year-old woman.
KwaZulu-Natal provincial police spokesperson, Captain Nqobile Gwala, said that during the incident, a helper and the victim’s grandchild, 5, were tied up with cables.
Gwala said the suspects then allegedly ransacked the house and left with cellphones and other household items.
“A case of murder and house robbery has been opened at Wentworth police station.”
Merebank and Wentworth Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson, Pastor Donovan Anderson, said the incident had shocked the community.
It was brutal and inhumane, and had made the situation in the area tense, he said.
According to Anderson, the suspects were spotted by community members while they were jumping over the wall fence. He said community members immediately alerted security companies and the police.
“We are aware that crime, especially house robberies in this area, is increasing.
He added that patrols had been stepped up with the police and private security working together.
“We were taken aback to hear that such an incident can happen in broad daylight. You would expect that it would happen at night,” Anderson said.
He said residents from the Bluff, Merebank and Wentworth had been raising concerns about suspicious vehicles without number plates driving around the area over the past week.
He said after receiving complaints of robberies, carjackings, and house robberies, they teamed up with privates security companies, CPFs, neighbourhood watch and the SAPS to monitor the area.
He said the suspicious vehicles were spotted during the day and at night.
“After we beefed up security measures in the area, the crime rate decreased due to law enforcement visibility. We are saddened about this incident.
“This clearly means that there is still more that needs to be done to fight crime in this area,” said Anderson.
He called on residents to report suspicious behaviour to the police and security companies patrolling the area.
“We hope that the police will be able to arrest this syndicate soon. This will help the family as well as the community in finding closure, knowing that the culprits are behind bars.”
The Mercury