Murdered Mossel Bay teen implicated in attempted burglary
Nhlamulo Sambo, 19, was killed in Mossel Bay.
Image: Facebook/Nonhlanhla Sambo
Western Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile, said preliminary information suggests murdered 19-year-old Nhlamulo Sambo in KwaNonqaba, Mossel Bay, was confronted during an alleged attempted burglary.
“A 15-year-old who was with the deceased, and who apparently hid inside the shack, said they entered the shack with the intention of taking some goods," Patekile said.
"They were then accosted by the owner of the shack upon his arrival. The owner subsequently chased the deceased and stabbed him to death.”
A 23-year-old man has been arrested in connection with Sambo's murder.
The suspect was arrested on Tuesday evening following what police described as a swift and focused investigation into Sambo's murder, whose body was discovered in the early hours of Sunday, May 31.
According to police spokesperson, Novela Potelwa, the breakthrough came after detectives worked “hard at pursuing leads” since the incident.
“Investigations into the murder of a 19-year-old in KwaNonqaba on Sunday morning have yielded results with the arrest of a 23-year-old man on Tuesday evening in the area,” Potelwa said.
Police were initially called to the New Rest informal settlement in KwaNonqaba at around 3am on Sunday morning, where Sambo was found with a stab wound.
He was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.
Meanwhile, his family claims that the teen was killed during riots reportedly linked to alleged protests against foreign nationals.
"They killed my son like a dog saying that he's a foreigner whereas my child is a Tsonga, a South African citizen from Limpopo in Giyani," his mother, Nkateko Sambo said in a video.