The partially decomposed body of 61-year-old Julius Koekemoer was found in his home on January 5 where it had been lying for six days.
According to Piet Linde, the employer of Koekemoer, the events outside the house of the deceased, on the day of his suspected murder, was caught on the CCTV cameras of his business down the street of the house.
The incidents were caught on the outside cameras on December 30.
According to Linde, based on the CCTV recording, four men could be seen sitting outside on the street for a couple of hours.
He went on to explain that the footage showed three of the men scaling the wall of the property while the other stood at the gate.
“Some time passed after which the car of the deceased was seen driving out of the property,” Linde said.
Murder investigation
In a statement by the police, Gauteng Police spokesperson Mathapelo Peters said a case of murder had been opened after the partially decomposed body of Koekemoer was discovered.
Reportedly, the family of the deceased reached out to the neighbours after they tried in vain to contact the deceased.
The neighbours found the body of the deceased in his home, and notified the authorities.
Linde, who was also on the scene on the day the body was discovered, described the scene of the suspected murder as terrible, with the deceased having suffered extreme injuries.
The police report describes the deceased body as having been bruised.The cause of death has not yet been established.
One day to retirement
Linde describes the loss of Koekemoer as a tragedy. He was just a day away from retirement, with his official last day of work as December 31, 2019.
“Julius was not an aggressive man at all,” said Linde when asked why anyone would hurt the 61-year-old man.
“He didn’t even get into fights or altercations at work.”
Linde was at a loss for words to say why anyone would want to harm the deceased.
He said on that day, a father who was looking forward to enjoying his retirement, needlessly lost his life.
“Julius wanted to move to be closer to the fishing waters. Fishing was how he wanted to spend the rest of his days.
“We were going to talk about his retirement plans early in the new year.”
“There are no words to describe the loss of Julius,” said Linde.
Watching and waiting
Linde feels that the events of December 30 were the terrible culmination of an ongoing problem the area in Alberton North has been experiencing.
“That corner of 7th Avenue and Hendrik Potgieter is frequented by people just sitting around.
“We have in the past experienced problems with these people,”said Linde.
He went on to explain how often the loiterers pestered people parked in the area, soliciting them for work or donations for watching over their cars.
Linde described that such interactions have sometimes in the past have been violent, with cars being scratched or tyres slashed if the people refused to pay.
The problem for business owners is even worse, according to Linde.
He describes having to monitor every part of the property with cameras to help curb crime, and even spoke about other businesses having a permanent guard on site to keep the property secure.
Linde said that they had for years been notifying the police of these problems, without anything being done to remedy the situation.
When asked about it, he said he believed if these problems had been addressed earlier, the tragic death of Koekemoer could have been avoided.
“Its my opinion that they were sitting around that street watching for an opportunity to commit crime.”
Police are appealing to anyone who might have any information that can help in the investigation, or assist in the apprehension of suspects involved in the murder, to please call their nearest police station, or to call crime stop on 08600 10111 or Alberton SAPS on 011 861 6800.
