Nhlamulo Sambo was stabbed on death on Sunday, May 31, in KwaNonqaba, Mossel Bay.
Image: Facebook
Western Cape police have dismissed claims that a Limpopo teenager killed in Mossel Bay was targeted during anti-immigration protests.
Nhlamulo Sambo, 19, was stabbed to death on Sunday, May 31, in KwaNonqaba, Mossel Bay.
Initial reports claimed that Sambo, originally from Giyani in Limpopo, had been attacked by residents for speaking Xitsonga.
Nonhlanhla Sambo said her brother was sleeping at a friend's house when he was forcibly removed and killed for speaking Xitsonga.
"My 19-year-old little brother was stabbed to death on May 31 during xenophobic riots and protests in Mossel Bay, Western Cape. His only fault was being Tsonga in a Xhosa community. We, as a family, are deeply hurt by this inhumane act. Justice must be served. We will not be silent," she wrote on Facebook.
His mother also claimed that her teenage son was killed during riots reportedly linked to protests against foreign nationals.
"They killed my son like a dog, saying that he was a foreigner, whereas my child is Tsonga, a South African citizen from Giyani in Limpopo," his mother, Nkateko Sambo, said in a video.
However, police said preliminary investigations revealed a different motive.
Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile said Sambo was confronted while allegedly attempting to steal items from a shack.
"A 15-year-old who was with the deceased, and who apparently hid inside the shack, said they entered the shack with the intention of taking some goods. They were then accosted by the owner of the shack upon his arrival. The owner subsequently chased the deceased and stabbed him to death," Patekile said.
Patekile confirmed that police are searching for the murder suspect.
Meanwhile, IOL sent the Sambo family a query regarding the new developments. A response had not been received at the time of publication.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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