Father dead, grandmother critical after horror hostage drama in Limpopo
A 19-year-old teenager who kept his family hostage has been charged with murder, attempted murder and assault.
LIMPOPO – A 19-year-old man who kept his family hostage after demanding money from them, has been charged with murder, attempted murder and assault following an incident that occurred on July 4.
The man, who allegedly had a drug addiction, seemingly demanded money from his elderly grandmother (96), whom he assaulted after she refused. The suspect’s father and brother were also present and witnessed how the man threatened to kill his grandmother, repeatedly assaulting her. She is now in a critical state in hospital.
According to information, the suspect’s father and brother were also assaulted as they tried to diffuse the situation, and the father succumbed to his injuries a day after the attack.
Limpopo police spokesperson Brig Motlafela Mojapelo confirmed that the Thohoyandou police are investigating two counts of attempted murder, a case of murder, assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm, and a case of contravening the Disaster Management Act.
“We were alerted about the said incident and went to the house in Tshisaulu village. On our arrival, the suspect was still armed and he refused to follow our instruction to put down his weapon. He then launched an attack on our members and we retaliated by shooting warning shots, upon which he continued attacking our officers.”
Mojapelo explained that this left the police with no option but to shoot and injure the suspect, who was subsequently arrested and treated for his injuries in a hospital, under police guard.
The chairperson of Munna Ndi Nnyi, Dr Bardwell Mufunwaini said his organisation condemned the incident.
“We want to start a programme that will help nurture boy children to have good morals and respect for the elderly. We want to focus on a programme to raise boys into responsible adults.”
