Naked burglar with big stick in Khayalethu
A Khayalethu woman who woke up to investigate things that go bang in the night last week was confronted by a naked man ‘’with a long thick stick’’.
On Monday 5 November at around 03:00, homeowner and mother-of-two Siphokazi Nomafeje woke up to noises during the early hours of the morning but initially dismissed them, she told KPH this week. After looking at the time she decided to switch on the geyser – only to discover the naked intruder standing close to the door in the lounge area, with the door wide open.
Nomafeje said the man had a thick and long piece of wood on him and she grabbed her six-year-old son’s scooter toy to throw at him, but the man stepped outside and closed the door – only to open it again and walk back inside. She said this time around she reached out for her daughter’s travelling cot hurl at him but this time the man ran down the stairs.
The young mother said that for a good while she couldn’t see where the man went, only to realise that he had tried to get back into the house, using different staircases. “I wasn’t sure where he went so I picked up a piece of wood, ran outside and started screaming for help.”
‘Community members ran after him’
Nomafeje detailed how community members came to her and that the men in the area asked what had happened.
“After I explained to them they ran after him and found him knocking at another house in the area and, according to them, he started throwing things at them such as oven gloves – which we believe he took from my home,” said Nomafeje.
More people arrived, approached the naked man, apprehended and assaulted him. “I called the police and for the life of me I couldn’t get through,” Nomafeje said. But eventually she managed to reach the police who arrived in two vehicles about 20 minutes later, and found the man in a pool of blood.
The woman was shocked to have fallen victim to a break-in after having lived in the community for over two years, but was even more surprised that the police responding to the incident didn’t take a statement from her.
Nomafeje then decided to open a case against the police who were on the scene.
She said she did not open a case against the naked intruder because she had heard that he is mentally unstable.
The family of the man said he has been receiving treatment for mental problems from the Knysna Provincial Hospital for more than three years.
Knysna police spokesperson Captain Thulani Mondlana confirmed the incident and said, “The allegations against the behaviour of members who attended the crime scene are under internal investigations. Any new development will be communicated regarding this matter.”