Kenyan killed in SA attacks, says family

Thousands march against the recent wave of xenophobic attacks in South Africa through the streets of Johannesburg CBD on April 23, 2015. A Kwale family claims a Kenyan man was killed in the recent wave of attacks targeting foreigners in South Africa. AFP PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA 

In Summary

• The attacker, according to the envoy, was arrested and taken into custody at the Krugersdorp Police Station in Johannesburg.
• The death of the man, who was a hawker in Krugersdorp Town “where he had lived and worked for three years” was not related to the xenophobic attacks, she added.
• She assured the man’s family that all the expenses had been paid “and the body will be transported to Kenya in due course”.

By FAROUK MWABEGE
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By AGGREY MUTAMBO
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A Kwale family claims a Kenyan man was killed in the recent wave of attacks targeting foreigners in South Africa.

Mr Hassan Stima from Mwembe Ngoma Village yesterday told the Daily Nation that his son Mohammed Stima, was killed in his house in Johannesburg.

His brother-in-law, who also lives in South Africa, had called to inform the family that Stima had been badly injured in his house in the xenophobic attacks and died after three days in a hospital, he said.

Mr Stima said his brother-in-law reported that his son was hit with a blunt object on the head, causing internal bleeding.

However, Kenya’s High Commissioner in South Africa, Ms Jean Kamau said yesterday that a Mr Hassan Juma alias Mohammed Stima was attacked and fatally injured by a person “well known to him” after a disagreement over a debt, on April 15. His death, she said, was not related to the xenophobic attacks.

She said the man was admitted in critical condition to a Johannesburg hospital.

The attacker, according to the envoy, was arrested and taken into custody at the Krugersdorp Police Station in Johannesburg.

“He was initially charged in the Krugersdorp Magistrates Court with assault (and) causing grievous harm.

“Hassan Juma alias Mohammed Abdul succumbed to his injuries on 23rd April 2015,’’ Ms Kamau said in a statement sent from Pretoria.

CAUSE OF DEATH

The death of the man, who was a hawker in Krugersdorp Town “where he had lived and worked for three years” was not related to the xenophobic attacks, she added.

An autopsy on his body concluded that he died of unnatural causes, she said. “The cause of death is attributed to head trauma injuries. His body was subsequently taken to the Flair Funeral Home in Hillbrow Johannesburg.’’

She assured the man’s family that all the expenses had been paid “and the body will be transported to Kenya in due course”.