A 37-YEAR-OLD man from Bulawayo based in South Africa allegedly plunged to his death from the third floor window of his Yoeville flat in Johannesburg over a rent dispute after the landlord allegedly hired thugs to kill him.
LUYANDUHLOBO MAKWATI OWN CORRESPONDENT
Reports from South Africa said Bernard Sibanda of Old Pumula jumped from the window of his flat at around midnight on Monday, although it still remains unclear whether he was thrown out or forced to jump by the thugs who allegedly confronted him inside the apartment.
Sibanda is said to have been involved in an altercation with the landlord over poor service delivery after electricity to his flat was disconnected despite him paying his rentals in full.
He was reportedly livid that in spite of him religiously paying his rentals, the landlord defaulted on paying electricity charges to City Power, which manages all of Johannesburg’s domestic power supplies, resulting in his electricity being cut off.
After the altercation, Sibanda went away for a while, but the landlord did not take kindly to being challenged by his tenant and reportedly hired some thugs to kill him.
The assailants are said to have laid in wait for Sibanda inside his apartment and attacked him when he returned later and either forced him to jump or threw him through the window.
Sibanda’s mother, who declined to give her first name preferring to be referred to only as Mrs Sibanda, confirmed to Southern Eye from her Old Pumula home yesterday that her son had been killed.
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The distraught mother said she first received a phone call at around 1am yesterday from Bernard’s sister Charity, who is based in South Africa, informing her of his death.
“Charity phoned me yesterday in the morning when I was asleep and told me that Bernard had jumped through the window of his flat, but she later phoned and said he was thrown from his flat by unknown assailants,” said Mrs Sibanda.
She said the family was still waiting for more feedback from those in South Africa on when her son’s body would be brought home before they could announce burial arrangements.
“As for now, we are still waiting for those in South Africa to furnish us with the details since it’s something that happened yesterday. We are yet to discuss his burial arrangements, but he will certainly be buried here,” she said.
She said Bernard leaves behind two children from his previous marriage. His friends from Zimbabwe also resident in Yoeville and elsewhere, have created a group chat on social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp seeking justice for Sibanda.
They promised to avenge Sibanda’s death should they catch the landlord before he is arrested by the police. He is now on the run.
The landlord’s pictures have been splashed on their Facebook chat wall as well as on their WhatsApp platform.
