A Philippi man allegedly strangled his mother to death after an argument. He then went to a tavern and ordered a beer.
|||Cape Town - A 37-year-old Philippi man allegedly strangled his mother after an argument on Sunday. He then went to a tavern with his girlfriend and ordered a beer.
It is alleged that at about 5pm on Sunday the man, an alleged tik addict, had an argument with his 55-year-old mother and choked her, said police spokesman Frederick van Wyk .
“He was apprehended the same day and is in custody. He will appear in Athlone Magistrate’s Court today on charges of murder,” Van Wyk said.
Police were also investigating the possibility that the man had raped his mother.
A relative, 75, told the Cape Argus that when he arrived at the woman’s home the police were leading her son to a police van.
He saw the woman lying face up on her bed. A necktie was tightly wrapped around her neck.
“They fought now and again, but I never imagined he would do this to his mother. He was her only son,” he said.
The relative said the man had begun smoking tik more than 20 years ago, after he dropped out of school.
“He has been in and out of jail since then for shoplifting. He is a troublesome man who would demand money for drugs from his mother. They fought a lot and she would often call on me to intervene,” he said.
A neighbour who asked not to be named said the man’s girlfriend had knocked on his door just after 5pm. “She told us (the man) had had a fight with his mother and was now strangling her. But she sounded so nonchalant that we didn’t take her seriously.”
The man and his mother were always fighting about her doing washing for people. “That’s how she made money as he would take her monthly government grant,” he said.
Another neighbour, a tavern owner, said the man arrived at the tavern with his girlfriend and ordered a beer.
“He kept on saying there is a dead body at his house and that he was going to wait until it’s dark to get rid of it… he didn’t say who it was,” she said.
The tavern owner said the man’s girlfriend kept indicating to her with her eyes that she should go outside.
“I sensed something was wrong. I flagged down a passing police van and drove with them to the house. That’s where we found her… dead. She was a good woman who was a hard worker.”
nontando.mposo@inl.co.za
Cape Argus