Sibusiso Sithole was a Grade 11 pupil at Filidi High who dreamed of becoming a music producer, according to his older brother.
Sibusiso’s dream will never become a reality, however, as the 19-year old Sasko resident was savagely tortured and slain by a group of diabolical thugs who accused him of stealing a cellphone over the Easter weekend. Now Sibusiso’s brother, Smindlos Dladla, wants answers…
According to Mr Dladla, when he received word from his younger brother that Sibusiso had been stabbed, he rushed to the scene where the lifeless body of his brother lay, naked and severely beaten, left in the street by the thirteen assailants who had mercilessly tortured and defiled the young man, who eventually succumbed to his injuries after being stabbed in the neck. It is believed that his body was unceremoniously dumped in the street following a failed attempt by the suspects to bury their victim in a shallow grave behind their Sasko residence.
“When my other brother found Sibusiso in the street, there was still blood gushing from one of the stab wounds in his neck…” he adds.
Sibusiso’s friend, who had also been subjected to the barbaric and inhumane assault, survived the horrific ordeal and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Mr Dladla spotted a police van parked at another residence nearby and requested the assistance of the officer, but he was allegedly turned away by the officer who claimed that he was not on duty at the time.
Using the vehicle registration of the police van, Mr Dladla later ran a check on the officer’s claims that he was off duty and now believes that he had, for all intents and purposes, been deceived by the cop in question.
“The police are supposed to protect and serve the community, aren’t they?” he begs the question, emotion rife in the voice of a man struggling to come to terms with the loss of his little brother, his sorrow compounded by the brutal nature of the young man’s agonising final hours. “Then why did this officer refuse to help us when we needed him? I checked… he was on duty. I just need to know why he wouldn’t help us. Why?”
Mr Dladla has since lodged an official complaint with the officer’s superiors at the Vryheid K9 Unit.
Captain Gary Stride of the Vryheid K9 Unit responded, “The complaint against [the officer in question] will be investigated and any wrongdoing will be dealt with according to SAPS disciplinary regulations.”
