Farmers Thinus and *Nelma Jurgens cleared a landslide from Hell’s Poort pass with their front-end-loader just before sunset on Tuesday 7 December. The mountain of mud and rocks slid down the hill above the pass and spread across half the road on Sunday 5 December during a torrential downpour.
A frantic message circulated on local WhatsApp groups from a driver who had been driving from Bedford to Makhanda when they suddenly found themselves unable to go any further.
No one was harmed and the driver and vehicle eventually got through, but the road has remained dangerous.
“We just had to do something as we were very close to a huge accident with a truck this morning,” said Nelma.
Late yesterday afternoon, Makana Traffic Officer Solomzi Jacobs kept watch while Jurgens drove his front-end-loader on to the narrow pass and shoved the mud off the road.
The mudslide was one of several incidents on Sunday when 50mm rain torrented down in just over 35 minutes in and around Makhanda.
DispatchLive reported on disaster in and around the city, with CBD businesses flooded as masses of litter washing down the town’s streams and gutters plugged stormwater drains and toppled trees blocked roads. Undertaker Ernie Cassels came to the rescue with his TLB as the flood threatened to destroy homes at Sun City informal settlement.
* Name corrected from Thelma to Nelma (sorry!)
Farmer Thinus Jurgens, with his front-end-loader, and Makana Traffic’s Solomzi Jacobs teamed up to clear a mudslide off the Hell’s Poort Pass on the Bedford Road. Photo: Thelma Jurgens
Howieson’s Poort Dam on Monday 7 December. Howieson’s, which is much smaller than Settlers, Makhanda’s main western supply dam, is currently at 75%. Photo: Lynda Brotherton
Farmers celebrate rainfall – but the drought’s not over
By Sue Maclennan
With close to 60mm measured in and around Makhanda during the past three days, residents have asked whether the drought (and with it, some of the town’s water problems) may be over. Sunday’s downpour added to the rains of recent weeks made a difference – but the town is still short of water.
A resident in the Oatlands area measured 49mm in 35 minutes during a torrential downpour on Sunday 5 December and another 7.5mm Monday, bringing the total not far from 60mm.
DispatchLive reported on disaster in and around the city, with CBD businesses flooded as masses of litter washing down the town’s streams and gutters plugged stormwater drains and toppled trees blocked roads. Undertaker Ernie Cassels came to the rescue as the flood threatened to destroy homes at Sun City informal settlement.
The dams used to supply Makhanda west – Settlers and the smaller Howisonspoort dams – have been depleted by drought. They rely on rain falling in their catchment to fill via two rivers – the Kariega and the Palmiet rivers.
SmilingSouth asked farmers in those catchment areas what effect the recent rains have had on the water table.
“Fantastic rain!” said Richard Moss, of Mosslands west of Makhanda. “We had. 60mm in less than 60 minutes and the Kariega river is flowing for the first time since March 2015… which is beautiful.”
He said optimistically, “I think we can say the drought has broken, although we need a little more to fill the dams on the Kariega.”
Dale Howarth, Director of Pumba Game Reserve between Makhanda and Alicedale, was positive but more cautious.
“We got some lovely rain,” said Howarth. “Got 102mm for November and 90mm over the weekend, which got the water running. All our small stock dams are full and our two big lakes about half. The grass and veld is starting to recover nicely.”
But Howarth, who is the chairperson of the Central Albany Agricultural Association, said while good progress had been made, it was “a little bit early to say the drought is broken”.
The head of Rhodes University’s Geography Department Ian Meiklejohn also said it was too early to tell.
“We still have not reached average for this year,” Meiklejohn said.
“Also, the dams in the catchment area of Settlers’ Dam are not filling up. The rains were gorgeous, but limited (isolated). We need consistent rains for a while, before we can say the drought has been broken.
“In the meantime, I will simply celebrate the 40mm I measured in my garden for yesterday [Sunday] and 14mm for the day before.”
Dam levels on 7 December 2021, sourced by Makana Communication Officer Anele Mjekula, were Howieson’s Poort 75% and Settlers below 5%.
A resident in the Oatlands area measured 49mm in just over 35 minutes during a downpour in Makhanda on Sunday 5 December 2021. Photo suppliedHowieson’s Poort Dam on 26 November 2021. Photo: Sue MaclennanSettlers Dam on 26 November 2021. Photo: Sue Maclennan
Settlers Dam on 6 December 2021. Photo: Lynda BrothertonHowieson’s Poort Dam on Monday 7 December. Photo: Lynda Brotherton
SmilingSouth update on Makhanda water supply – December 2021
Dam levelson 7 December 2021: Howieson’s Poort – 75%; Settlers – below 5% (courtesy Makana Communications Office)
Background
Makhanda’s main western supply dams, Settlers and Howieson’s Poort, have depleted during the past six years, dropping as low as 5% and 10% respectively. At those levels, water can’t be extracted. The much smaller Slaaikraal dams, Jamieson and Milner, which were used to supplement the main supply likewise emptied.
The much smaller Howieson’s Poort Dam fills up quickly but also empties quickly. At times it has filled up enough to supply the Waainek Water Treatment Works, but for the past year, for most of the time, all of Makhanda has been supplied by the much bigger James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works (JKWTW) east of Makhanda.
JKWTW is in turn supplied by Glen Melville Dam – a reservoir filled artificially (not by rain) by water released from the Orange River via the Fish River tunnel.
The average daily water demand in Makhanda is 18 megalitres a day and JKWTW produces just over half that amount, 10ML a day. In order to allow all the intermediate supply reservoirs to fill up and both high-and low-lying areas in the gravity fed system to receive water equitably, the entire supply is opened to consumers only every second day.
Old infrastructure (water supply pipes) results in a lot of water being lost through leaks. Makana Municipality appointed contractors to begin the process of replacing old asbestos pipes in certain areas. That work began earlier this year.
Previous reasons for delays in the upgrade
The James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works is being upgraded to double its production to 20 megalitres a day. An October 2019 Infrastructure Portfolio Committee report outlines the history and status at the time:
Bosch Projects was appointed in September 2013 as the service provider, starting with various scoping and technical reports. In March 2015, the project cost approved by DWS was R101 850 000. With Makana Municipality being placed under administration, Amatola Water was appointed as the implementing agent. Amatola in turn (re-) appointed Bosch in August 2015.
Because of DWS funding requirements, the project is split into four phases:
Phase 1 – Augmentation of JKWTW (R65.6 million)
Phase 2 – Augmentation of JKWTW (R102.7m)
Phase 3 – Upgrading/ refurbishment of existing pump station (R31.5m)
Phase 4 – Upgrading existing water treatment works (R31.5m)
The upgrade was delayed when the subcontractor appointed to complete Phase 1, Winwater, proved unequal to the task. Their contract was terminated and they left the site in June 2017. In line with Amatola’s procurement policy, the next in line was appointed to replace them and so Mamlambo Construction stepped in and began work in September 2017.
According to their contract, the work would be completed within 40 weeks – July 2018. But administrative delays pushed that date further back to March 2019.
But equipment had to be imported and Makana’s water crisis meant it wasn’t possible to shut down the plant for more than eight hours a week. And so the revised completion date became June 2019.
However, the Department of Trade and Industry cancelled the Phase 2 tender because, according to the report, “local content declaration was not allowed to be adjusted or amended post award”. So it was re-advertised in September 2019.
After it was awarded, the revised completion date was September 2021.
Parliament noticed
Earlier this year, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) grilled officials from the Department of Water and Sanitation, implementing agent Amatola Water and main contractor Bosch Civils on the process involved in awarding the upgrade contracts, and the delays and cost increases that resulted.
SCOPA questioned the fact that during the 10 years since the project was initiated, the budget had risen from an initial R68 million to R237.5 million. DWS explained that this was because the scope of the project had changed during that time.
What’s happening now?
Asked about the current status of the JKWTW upgrade, implementing agent Amatola Water said the new projected completion date is March 2022.
Nosisa Sogayise, Manager: Stakeholder and Communications, told SmilingSouth that Amatola Water had recently learnt that Mamlambo Construction was under new management. Responding to questions on Tuesday 7 December, Sogayise said Amatola had been giving the contractor assistance in its role as facilitator; however, this had not helped.
“The James Kleynhans project will not be finalized as per the planned date,” Sogayise said. “Amatola Water [has] learnt that the [company has] been sold and is currently under new management due to financial difficulties experienced by the contractor.
“The contractor had difficulties in procuring material for the project and to remunerate employees,” Sogayise said.
Makana referred queries about the project to Amatola Water, who referred specific questions about the contractor to Mamlambo Construction. That company in turn referred questions back to Makana. And so SmilingSouth has not yet been able to confirm the status of the contractor from Mamlambo themselves.
And what if it rains enough to fill the dams west of Makhanda?
The DA reported on a recent oversight visit to the Waainek Water Treatment Works, saying that the building was unsecured and that pumps and motors were missing.
Emergency services were still busy with mopping-up operations at 1.20pm Tuesday 7 December after a head-on collision on the N2 outside Makhanda that killed one person and left another critically injured. Two trucks were involved in the incident under the George Street (R67) offramp. In an earlier incident, one person was taken to hospital after a vehicle overturned on the N2 to Gqeberha, 35km from Makhanda.
One person died, one person was injured and a cargo of pineapples was scattered acrosss the N2 in a head-on collision between two trucks outside Makhanda this morning Tuesday 7 December 2021. Photo: Department of Transport, Eastern Cape
Spokesperson for the Department of Transport in the Eastern Cape, Unathi Binqose, said in the R67 offramp incident, one of the trucks had been carrying a full load of pineapples which were scattered across the road.
“The road was blocked and motorists travelling on the N2 from Gqeberha to East London were advised to use the R72 as an alternative route,” Binqose said.
At 1.20pm, Makana Traffic officers and other emergency personnel were still engaged in mopping-up operations.
The earlier incident occurred shortly after 6am Tuesday 7 December, around 35km from Makhanda on the N2 from Gqeberha.
Makana Traffic Chief Coenraad Hanekom said a heavy duty South African Breweries truck travelling on the N2 towards Makhanda had left the road and tip partially overturned.
Paramedics had treated a man on the scene and he was taken to hospital in Gqeberha.
Emergency services were still mopping up at 1.20pm on Tuesday 7 December. Photo: Edwin Sias
Staff joined students in a march from Eastcape Midlands College in St Aidan’s Avenue to a candlelight vigil for Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang
‘This was a child of your own town,’ Makhanda leaders told
By Sue Maclennan
A double burial in Makhanda last Saturday marked three weeks of anguish since Eastcape Midlands College (EMC) student Anele Kampu was found dead in her boyfriend’s room. Her father, Zalisile Kampu, died a week after hearing of his daughter’s death and they were buried side by side at Mayfield Cemetery last weekend. Fellow students and staff marched with the family through town in a protest against gender based violence and gathered in a moving tribute at Fingo Square on Friday 5 November.
Makhanda student Anele Anita Kampu was enrolled in her second year of a National Certificate in Vocational Tourism, Level 3, at Eastcape Midlands College (EMC) and around 300 students, staff members, family and friends gathered for the candlelight memorial at Fingo Square in Makhanda on the eve of the double funeral and burial. Tourism lecturer Wanda Makeleni was among the first to speak and he described Anele as colourful, vibrant and intelligent.
EMC Stakeholder Manager Mike Sideba, on behalf of the College, spoke of the terrible cost of her death – not only to the lives of her family, friends and fellow students, but to the town.
“The leadership of Makhanda is here and you should know that this college belongs to the community of Makhanda,” he said. “We have lost not only a daughter, sister and friend, but a potential developer of Makhanda.” Students were not only young people with dreams, families and futures, but valuable assets for the town and its future, Sideba said.
Makhanda born and raised, Anele attended Ntaba Maria Primary School and Kutliso Daniels Secondary School before enrolling at Eastcape Midlands College. Born in 2000, she was 21.
“The leadership of Makhanda must know that this was a child of your own town,” Sideba said.
His address followed a call by Makana councillor and ANC Makana Subregion Chairperson Mabhuti Matyumza to revive Men’s Forums, and for men to stand up and say, “not in our name”.
The EMC SRC’s Gender and Transformation Officer, Joleen Arries, said, “Anele Kampu was killed while she was working to achieve her dreams. It’s time to stand together against gender based violence and not allow another innocent life to be taken.”
Fellow Tourism student Asiphenati Ngesi delivered a moving poem.
“I am so broken,” she said afterwards.
But for the close to 300 gathered there, even those heartfelt words were cold comfort as they absorbed the terrible events of the past three weeks.
Around 50 members of staff and students had marched from EMC’s Makhanda campus in St Aidan’s Avenue to Fingo Square in Raglan Road, where others joined the moving tribute.
On Saturday 23 October, Anele’s lifeless body was found in her boyfriend’s M Street room. Anele’s father collapsed when he heard the news. A week later he died of a stroke.
Anele’s heartbroken mother, Nomonde, sobbed as tributes flowed for her daughter.
Speaking quietly at the edge of the gathering, Anele’s elder sister Bongiwe said, “My sister was kind and loving. She was a people’s person, so very humble. She was a sweet girl – she didn’t deserve what happened to her.
“Today, I wish this is the last time we are gathering for this. Over and over, we must mourn someone who has died because of gender based violence. And now it is my own sister.
“She didn’t deserve this.”
Police confirmed that a case of murder was opened on 23 October 2021 and Anele’s boyfriend was named as the only suspect.
“His mother went to her son’s outside room to fetch his washing. When she knocked and got no response, she opened the door,” said police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli.
In front of her lay Anele’s lifeless body. There were noticeable injuries on her upper body. She was declared dead on the scene and a case of murder was opened.
“But the suspect was nowhere to be found,” said Nkohli.
Six days later, on 29 October, the 22-year-old man handed himself in at Joza Police Station. His first court appearance was on 2 November. The next day he was granted bail of R1000.
“The case was postponed for further investigation and his next appearance is on 10 December,” Nkohli said.
Photos: Steven Lang
Photos: Sue Maclennan
Photo: Lithemba Busakwe
LEFT TO RIGHT, FROM THE TOP: 1_Eastcape Midlands College Student Liaison Officer Lithemba Busakwe addresses students and staff gathered in St Aidan’s Avenue for a march to a memorial service for EMC student Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 2_Students and staff set off from Eastcape Midlands College in St Aidan’s Avenue for a memorial for Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 3_Staff joined students in a march from Eastcape Midlands College in St Aidan’s Avenue to a candlelight vigil for Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 4_Mpho Kopeli, Lukhanyiso Cezula and Taonga Phiri were part of a Rhodes University SRC delegation that joined Eastcape Midlands College students and staff in a march from the EMC campus in St Aidan’s Avenue to a candlelight vigil for Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 5_Rhodes University SRC member Lindi Gqamana-Mngeni was part of a Rhodes University SRC delegation that joined Eastcape Midlands College students and staff in a march from the EMC campus in St Aidan’s Avenue to a candlelight vigil for Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 6_Staff joined students in a march from Eastcape Midlands College in St Aidan’s Avenue to a candlelight vigil for Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 7_Gideon Minyelela, Siya Silatsha, Sihle Japhela and Thembinkosi Ngqoyiya said it was painful for a young girl to pass away. They had come to show their support at a memorial for Eastcape Midlands College student Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 8_Student Liaison Officer Lithemba Busakwe leads Eastcape Midlands College staff and students in a march to a candlelight vigil for Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 9_Eastcape Midlands College student Anele Kampu’s family listen to tributes during a memorial ceremony for her at Fingo Square, Makhanda, on 5 November 2021. Anele’s mother, Nomonde, is seated in the centre. Photo: Steven Lang 10_Reverend Melikhaya Fiki was among the clergy at a memorial for Eastcape Midlands College student Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 11_Asiphenati Ngesi delivered a moving poem at a memorial for Eastcape Midlands College student Anele Kampu at Fingo Square, Makhanda, on 5 November 2021. Anele was Asiphenati’s second-year Tourism classmate. Photo: Steven Lang 12_Eastcape Midlands College Acting Campus Manager Nkululeko Magopeni reads a tribute to Anele Kampu during her memorial in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 13_Makana councillor and ANC Subregion Chairperson Mabhuti Matyumza speaks at a memorial service for Eastcape Midlands College student Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Steven Lang 14_Rhodes University SRC members Mpho Khopeli and Lindi Gqamana Mngeni light candles at a memorial service for Eastcape Midlands College student Anele Kampu in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Sue Maclennan 15_Nomonde Kampu holds a candle at a memorial service for her daughter, Anele Kampu, in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Sue Maclennan 16_Zalisile Kampu collapsed when he heard his daughter Anele had been found dead and a week later he died of a stroke. They were buried side by side at Mayfield Cemetery on Saturday 6 November 2021. Photo: Lithemba BusakweNomonde Kampu holds a candle at a memorial service for her daughter, Anele Kampu, in Fingo Square, Makhanda, on Friday 5 November 2021. Photo: Sue MaclennanZalisile Kampu collapsed when he heard his daughter Anele had been found dead and a week later he died of a stroke. They were buried side by side at Mayfield Cemetery on Saturday 6 November 2021. Photo: Lithemba Busakwe
Members of the Makhanda K9 unit arrested two suspects in separate operations and seized drugs with an estimated street value of around R 3 600 in Joza on Wednesday 20 October. Of the second intelligence driven breakthrough this week, spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said information shared with the K9 unit had led to the arrest of the two suspects.
Nkohli reported that K9 members executed a search warrant at a house in Somyayi Street, Extension 9, Joza, around 7am on Monday 20 October.
“Seven full mandrax tablets and two [quarter mandrax tablets] were found hidden inside a speaker. The rest of the drugs were stashed underneath a sink, where police found a bag containing 57 dagga bompies,” Nkohli said.
A 32-year-old man was arrested for possession of mandrax and dagga.
In a second operation yesterday, around 2.30pm, the same team executed a search warrant at the second house in Joza. 27 full mandrax tablets and two sachets of tik were found stashed under the couch. A 43-year-old woman was arrested for possession of mandrax and tik.
The two suspects are due to appear in court soon on charges relating to the possession of illicit drugs.
In another intelligence driven operation this week, police closed a Makhanda scrap dealership and seized copper pipes worth R84 000 on On Tuesday 19 October. Two men are due to appear in the Magistrate’s Court in Makhanda on Thursday 21 October.
Two men appeared briefly in the Magistrate’s Court in Makhanda late on Thursday 21 October. The matter is postponed to Wednesday 27 October for a bail application. The State indicated it would oppose bail because of the seriousness of the charges. The men remain in custody.
The Second-Hand Goods Act 6 of 2009 aims: * To regulate the business of dealers in second-hand goods and pawnbrokers, in order to combat trade in stolen goods; * To promote ethical standards in the second-hand goods trade; and * To provide for matters connected therewith. Read more here: https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201409/32087392.pdf
The Criminal Matters Amendment Act 18 of 2015 aims: * To amend the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, so as to regulate bail in respect of essential infrastructure-related offences; * To amend the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1997, so as to regulate the imposition of discretionary minimum sentences for essential infrastructure-related offences and to create a new offence relating to essential infrastructure; * To amend the Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998, so as to insert a new offence in Schedule 1 to the Act; and to provide for matters connected therewith. Read more here: https://www.gov.za/documents/criminal-matters-amendment-act-18-2015-15-dec-2015-0000
ORIGINAL POST ON 20 OCTOBER:
Police seized copper pipes, taps, wiring and cables worth more than R84 000 and closed a scrap dealership in Makhanda on Tuesday 19 October. The dealership owner and his assistant are due to appear in the magistrate’s court in Makhanda on Thursday, 21 October 2021. The men, aged 46 and 26, have been charged with contravening the Second-Hand Goods Act and contravening the Criminal Matters Amendment Act.
Police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said in an intelligence driven operation, police in partnership with other stakeholders in possession of search warrants had raided five premises of scrap metal dealers in Makhanda around 8am yesterday.
“A dealership in Victoria Street was closed, after 601.5 kilograms of copper were found stashed under piles of compressed aluminium bales,” Nkohli said.
Theft or damage to essential infrastructure had serious implications for the delivery of essential services, and was an ongoing problem in the Sarah Baartman District. Acting District Commissioner, Brigadier John Lebok, had commended members and other stakeholders for the sterling work, Nkohli reported.
“People must [take note] that any person… found guilty of contravening the Criminal Matters Amendment Act 18 of 2015 could be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of up to 30 years or issued a fine up to R100 million,” Lebok said.
Lebok said the Act was intended to address crimes affecting service delivery to the public, such as theft of cables, water meters, bridge railings, inspection (“manhole”) covers, and including damage to infrastructure such as roads.
Working on Fire Crew leader at Cata Base in the Eastern Cape, Yanda Stuurman, says being in Canada was a lifetime opportunity. Stuurman, 32, from Katberg, is among the firefighters who recently returned from their Canada Deployment.
“I gained a lot of experience and new skills when fighting fires in Canada,” Stuurman said. “Although it was not easy, because in that area we were dealing mostly with underground fires – unlike the ones we suppress in SA.”
She said they had to use different tools and techniques in fighting those fires.
“We were digging holes in the ground in order to reach the fire and that needed a lot of hard work and teamwork,” she said.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment sent 109 firefighters and management personnel to Manitoba, Canada to boost the country’s capacity to fight raging fires there. Among them, seven firefighters and two managers were from the Eastern Cape.
Stuurman, 32, joined the programme in 2010. She said the past 10 years has given her more than enough experience and skills and these helped her a lot when she was in Canada.
She says she’ll use her pay from Canada to pay for her sister’s school fees, extend her mother’s house and save for her children.
Nthabiseng Mokone is the communications officer for Working on Fire.
Police are searching for at least three armed men involved in the fatal shooting of a 55-year-old farm owner, and injuring his son following the invasion of their farm house near Nanaga last night.
On Sunday 5 September 2021 at approximately 6.30pm, three armed men entered the home of Werner and Estelle Buchner on their dairy farm, Boslaagte, near Nanaga in the Sarah Baartman District, Agri EC’s Rural Safety Manager Jason Kümm said in a media statement.
Werner Senior was shot in the back and his son Werner Buchner Junior was also shot when the attackers entered the premises. Estelle Buchner had attempted to shield her husband and son with her own body, upon which the attackers had proceeded to kick and beat her. This resulted in both her arms being broken, Kumm said.
Estelle and Werner Buchner Junior were taken to a hospital in Gqeberha for treatment, where Werner Junior has undergone surgery and is now in a stable condition.
“Unfortunately, Agri Eastern Cape is saddened to announce that Mr Werner Buchner Senior was fatally wounded and died on the scene,” Kumm said.
“Estelle Buchner made the call for help and the local farming community and role players immediately responded to the call. At this stage the reason for the attack is unknown and the only items missing from the home are two cellphones and an undisclosed amount of money.”
All three attackers were still at large and the SAPS dog unit and other statutory forces had been deployed to assist in the search.
“Agri Eastern Cape would like to thank the local farming community who immediately responded to the call for help from Estelle and acknowledge the coordinated and controlled manner in which they activated their emergency procedures,” Kumm said. “Agri Eastern Cape extends its deepest condolences to the Buchner family, their friends, and the Alexandria farming community.”
Police spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said, “At this stage, the details of the… incident are sketchy. Police are investigating a case of murder with additional charges of attempted murder and house robbery for further investigation.”
Anyone who can assist with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects, who are still at large is requested to contact the nearest police station. The information may also be shared via Crime Stop 08600 10111. All information is strictly confidential and callers have the right to remain anonymous.
Police are investigating a case of murder and house robbery after a woman was killed and her husband assaulted during a home invasion in Makhanda late last night.
South African Police Service spokesperson Sergeant Majola Nkohli said on Friday 3 September 2021 at around 10.30pm, two or more men armed with knives stormed into the Ngqawana Street, Vukani, home of Thokozile Chrisjan, 38, and attacked the couple.
Thokozile was fatally stabbed during the incident.
The men also stole two television sets and three cellphones before fleeing in the couple’s vehicle, Nkohli said. Their Nissan SUV was later found burnt on the Fort Beaufort Road outside Makhanda.
“The circumstances relating to the incident will form part of the investigation,” Nkohli said. “Police opened a case of murder with a second charge of house robbery for further investigation.
Anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects is urged to contact the investigating officer, Warrant Officer Nathan Gabriel on 082 301 9071 or 083 468 7063. Information may also be shared via Crime Stop 08600 10111.
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