Would-be retiree killed in home invasion
Durban - On Sunday morning - a week shy of retirement - 59-year-old Abraham Koekemoer was found dead on the floor of the modest Avoca cottage he called home.
When the Daily News arrived at the scene, Koekemoer was lying shirtless, on his back, beside his bed.
His hands had been tied together with black cables. A small window above his bed looked as though it had been forced open and his home had been turned upside down, its contents strewn about.
But all that seemed to be missing, were a few electronic items.
The cause of death was not immediately evident but those who knew Koekemoer, said the slim-framed man was sickly and suffered from lung problems.
An oxygen mask dangled from a metal rail, within arm’s reach of his lifeless body.
Koekemoer had been the groundskeeper at the Victoria Business Park, in Chris Hani (North Coast) Road, for almost 10 years and lived on the premises.
Kevin Cooke, who manages a neighbouring factory, and Willie Posthumus, the business park supervisor, came upon the grisly scene there on Sunday morning.
Koekemoer usually opened the gate every morning but it had not been opened for two days, so they went to check on him at about 9.30am.
“We went around the back, looked through the window and saw him lying on the floor, with his hands bound,” Cooke said.
He said Koekemoer’s Playstation and TV had been stolen.
“That TV was the only thing that he wanted to take with him when he moved,” Posthumus said.
Koekemoer stayed alone and had no family in Durban.
Upon retiring, he was planning to relocate to Gauteng and move in with his sister, who lives there.
Posthumus broke the news to her, over the phone on Sunday morning.
She was distraught, he said.
Police spokeswoman, Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala, said charges of murder and house robbery were being investigated by Greenwood Park police.
“The motive for the killing is unknown at this stage,” she said. No arrests had been made.
http://mini.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/would-be-retiree-killed-in-home-invasion-1994568
#StopWhiteGenocideInSA
