At least nine people have been arrested in connection with the grisly murder of a e-hailing driver in Parkwood on Tuesday 31 May and police are working tirelessly to find and arrest more.
On Monday 6 June, the suspects appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on charges of murder and possession of stolen property.
Since the shocking incident in which the 31-year-old Abongile Mafalala was brutally attacked by a mob, Grassy Park police have been combing through dozens of video footage recordings to track the perpetrators of the violent attack. Mafalala was mysteriously attacked and his vehicle set alight.
As of Monday 6 June, police questioned 29 people and arrested nine suspects between the ages of 19 and 45.
Grassy Park Police Station spokesperson Capt Wynita Kleinsmith confirmed that one person died in the attack.
“It is alleged that two kids were abducted. The community set a car alight as well as the driver of the vehicle. It was the community who attacked the driver.”
Nobody has come forward yet to corroborate an alleged kidnapping, she added.
In one of the video recordings circulating on social media, a man can be seen repeatedly struck with a spade as an angry crowd surrounds him.
In another video, a half-naked man can be seen with his clothes and the car on fire.
“It has since come to light that the victim was robbed. The people who robbed him spread false rumours. So far nine people have been arrested and we are viewing all the video footage to identify those responsible.”
Kleinsmith said the identity of the victim was traced through the number plate of the vehicle he was driving.
“We checked the registration number of the vehicle and traced the owner of the car who identified the victim as a e-hailing driver.
“He was from Dunoon, 31 years old and was married with a child. His family has been notified. Currently we are still busy with our investigation. The nine suspects who were arrested will appear in court as soon as they are charged.”
She added that the suspects will be charged with murder.
Ward 65 councillor Donovan Nelson has since condemned the killing. “This killing is totally unacceptable and cannot be condoned. I understand that as parents we are extremely on edge with the kidnapping reports we see on social media and WhatsApp messages. But we need to get our facts first, before taking action to protect our children.
“I am appealing to residents to come forward with information pertaining to this case, in order for the police to further their investigation.”
Grassy Park Community Policing Forum (CPF) deputy chair Nicole Jacobus urged the community not to take the law into their own hands.
“It is alleged that there was a kidnapping. The vehicle was burned out, the person was attacked. I want to urge the community, you can’t decide that this person is kidnapping someone just because you have not seen the vehicle in the community before.
“We can’t take the law into our own hands; you can end up in big trouble. I want to ask the community that if a child or adult does go missing to report it immediately.”
