Cape Town - A group of foreigners went on a manhunt in Hout Bay on Thursday, storming through the streets of Imizamo Yethu informal settlement as they sought the killers of a Congolese man.
Nchikala Ngoy, 23, was stabbed eight times in the back and head after being robbed on his way home from Hout Bay Library on Wednesday evening.
The UCT student – who left the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for South Africa a year ago – had been studying and was on his way back to his shack in Imizamo Yethu.
Ngoy was killed close to “The White House”, a derelict, city-owned building residents say harbours criminals. The area around the building is a crime hot spot. The Hout Bay Civic Association (HBCA) has been asking the city to deal with the building since 2011, by either demolishing it or putting it to good use.
The association’s secretary, Roscoe Jacobs, said the city was aiding and abetting crime by failing to deal with its own problem building.
When the Cape Times visited the area on Thursday, residents were gathering at the Hout Bay police station, where they had handed over a man suspected of being involved in another murder. The man, accused of murdering a Malawian man two weeks ago, was badly beaten up.
Police spokesperson Thembinkosi Kinana could not confirm any arrests on Thursday, saying reports of xenophobia and mob justice were “unconfirmed”.
“A case of murder has been opened and three suspects are being sought. The motive appears to be robbery as a cellphone was stolen,” he said.
Ngoy’s brother Valery said the mob consisted of Congolese, Zimbabweans, Ghanaians, Malawians, Ugandans and Angolans, who came together on Thursday after being continuously “targeted for crime”.
He said a group of young men, who were known criminals in the community, were being protected by their families. “They get arrested and then come back shortly afterwards because they are juveniles. We know who they are.
“The locals get robbed too, but they don’t get stabbed or injured. The robbers fear the reaction from their people will be worse. They know they will be necklaced,” Valery said.
“The locals are fine with us, it’s the thugs who are a problem. This is a crime issue, but their families also support them so it’s difficult to say whether this is xenophobia.”
The Cape Times witnessed the group sweep through the area, venting their anger while residents looked on.
Police said another suspect had been arrested and that others had allegedly handed themselves over after fearing for their lives.
Jacobs condemned the city on Thursday, saying its failure to demolish the White House was aiding crime.
“It is the view of the HBCA that the city has failed to apply the very ‘broken windows’ theory it teaches to neighbourhood watches.
“The success of this theory is to fix the problems when they are still small and the city has failed to do this.
“The community, led by the Community Policing Forum, has been calling for this house to fall since 2011,” Jacobs said.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said metro police and law enforcement were aware of the problem and were patrolling the area.
The city’s Problem Building Unit was dealing with over 1 900 buildings and had concluded more than 5 000 complaints, with many successes. “There are many crime hot spots in every ward,” Smith said.
He said the building would soon be boarded up before possibly being demolished.
carlo.petersen@inl.co.za
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