SHARPEVILLE – A 52-year-old visually impaired man was found dead in his house in Putswastena on April 26. According to a family spokesperson, Winile Nkondeka had a pattern he followed every morning.

The deceased used to open windows and his front door after waking up. While his door remained locked from the inside and his windows stiffly closed, the family broke down the door only to be met by a shocking discovery.

The man was unresponsive, and his bed was partially burnt, together with the curtains. Speaking to the media following the discovery, his nephew and family spokesperson, Siyabulela Tabane, detailed the search.

“We knew him to be a person who opens doors and plays the radio loudly once he’s up. On Sunday, that was not the case,” he said.

“When he is not around, we know that his friends fetch him. His mother called me and suggested we look for him since he hasn’t been seen since morning.”

“I peeped through a broken window into his room and realised that his curtain was burnt and there was a stench of smoke,” he said.

Tabane said that after they broke the door, they found him unresponsive.

“He was lying on the ground next to the bed. No one heard anything, especially a stench of smoke.”

The family suspects Winile might have died from smoke inhalation. An ambulance was called to the scene and declared him dead.

Tabane said the family is failing to come to terms with Kondile’s passing.

“We are going to remember him for his love. He adored his siblings and his two kids.

The family is left reeling in shock and fails to accept the incident,” he said.

Sharpeville police spokesperson, Sergeant Busisiwe Sango said an inquest docket is open and an investigation are underway.