Woman dies after tavern wall collapses on her shack in Olievenhoutsbosch

Sibongile Jele sustained fatal injuries after a wall from a tavern operating next door collapsed on her shack while she and two other women were inside.


Police have launched an investigation following the death of a 58-year-old woman in her Olievenhoutbosch extension 23 shack on Thursday, reports Centurion Rekord.

Sibongile Jele sustained injuries after a wall from a tavern operating next door collapsed on her shack while she and two other women were inside.

Her niece, Archie Malatji, said the boundary wall was hit by a delivery truck a few days before the accident.

“The wall didn’t fall immediately, but the owner was notified that a truck had bumped into the wall,” she said.

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“On Thursday when my aunt returned home around 5pm it was windy. Around 7.30pm, the wind started picking up and minutes later the wall collapsed onto the shack.”

What remains of Sibongile’s shack.

Malatji said another woman who was also inside sustained foot and back injuries. The third woman got away unscathed.

An ambulance was called, but it was delayed. A bakkie transported Sibongile to the Kalafong hospital in Atteridgeville, where she later died.

Police spokesperson Mapula Rikhotso said police have opened an inquest docket to establish whether there was any negligence or wrongdoing from the tavern owner.

“The case was opened at the Atteridgeville police station because the woman died at a hospital in the area,” she said.

“It will be transferred to the Olievenhoutbosch police station and investigations will be taken on by them.”

The community wants the tavern to be closed down, an anonymous source told Centurion Rekord.

“It’s an illegal tavern. There have been a lot of crime happening at that particular tavern and we want it closed as early as today.”

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