Resident recounts hearing victims’ last words

The man who heard the last words of a drowning husband at Rhodes Park on Saturday recalled what happened that night.

Mr Bongani Ngcobo, who stays close to the lake, said he was watching television when he heard somebody screaming for help.

“I was peering through the fence but  I could not where the sound was coming from. I went back and took something to stand on. I heard a man screaming. I shouted back and asked what was going on. He never responded. I think that is when he drowned,” said Mr Ngcobo.

Mr Ngcobo was still trying to understand what was happening when he saw two women running towards him.

“They looked scared. They told me they had just been raped. They said the same men who had raped them had thrown their husbands into the lake. That is when I heard there were people  in the lake,” he said.

Mr Ngcobo called his boss and his wife to help calm down the two women, while he phoned the police.

“The police were quick to arrive but it took them time to retrieve the bodies. This is partly because the women could not remember where the men were thrown into the lake,” said Mr Ngcobo.

He believes he interrupted what could have become an even worse situation.

“The women told me they had arrived at the park earlier. They sat on one of the benches next to the lake. The women said there were other people in the park, sitting around. The women said suddenly the suspects came to them. At first the women thought the men were passing by, until they started to rob them,” said Mr Ngcobo.

He said the suspects were divided into groups.

“There was a group for each woman and others who were terrorising the husbands,” said Mr Ngcobo.

According to Mr Ngcobo, the women said there was an argument between the attackers.

“Some were saying they should threw all of them into the lake when they were done with them. Another suspect suggested letting the women go as they had already thrown their husbands into the lake. I did not see much but I heard a voice calling out for help and that is why I came out,” said Mr Ngcobo.

Mr Ngcobo said he has seen many robbery victims in the park, but never anything like this.

“Earlier that week I helped about four people who were robbed in four different incidents in the park. One was stabbed in his shoulder. The other two men were without shoes. All these incidents took place in the space of 20 minutes. This park is not safe but this is beyond my comprehension,” said Mr Ngcobo.

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