DURBAN - A man was set alight and his home demolished by an angry mob after he allegedly killed a 9-year-old boy for making a noise with fireworks in uMlazi, south of Durban.
Olwethu Latha, 9, and two of his friends were setting off fireworks when the man confronted them, and asked them to stop.
Olwethu’s aunt Smangelele Latha said the boys had picked up some fireworks and were leaving, when the man stopped them. She said he had promised them money to buy sweets.
“From what the boys told us he came out of his house holding a bush knife behind his back. He started attacking them. The two boys ran home to alert family members who then rushed to the house. The community found the man dragging the body of Olwethu on the ground to nearby bushes.”
It is alleged that the community was enraged and confronted the man. In the fracas two residents were injured when he took swipes at them with the bush knife.
Smangelele said she heard that community members overpowered him. They allegedly set the man alight and destroyed his home.
Two community members received treatment in the Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital for injuries sustained when the man attacked them; one of whom was discharged from hospital.
Colonel Thembeka Mbele said murder and inquest dockets had been opened.
A resident, Sithembile Mkhize, said the man should not have attacked the children in such a manner.
Olwethu’s mother Ntombifuthi was inconsolable and did not want to speak to the media.
Daily News