The Mercury
The Pinetown home where the body of Hendrik Potgieter, 78, was found after a robbery. Picture Zanele Zulu
Durban – While police were responding to the murder of a 78-year-old Pinetown man yesterday, the provincial police commissioner was meeting their colleagues – just a few kilometres away – addressing the surge in crime in Durban’s Outer West suburbs.
Hendrik Potgieter was found by his domestic worker in the morning, tied to a chair and stabbed to death.
His distraught son-in-law, Joe Fourie, told The Mercury that he and his wife, Hilda, had spoken to Potgieter on Monday.
“He was in good spirits. Everything was fine,” said Fourie.
Fourie phoned Potgieter on Monday night, but he did not answer the phone.
“We thought he was asleep and did not worry,” Fourie said.
When they phoned again on Wednesday and he did not answer, the couple suspected something was wrong.
They drove to the house where they found the domestic worker in shock and the place cordoned off by the police.
“We are told by neighbours they heard a commotion, but did not think anything had happened,” said Fourie.
He suspected the incident was a robbery as the house had been ransacked and items were missing, including Potgieter’s car.
Potgieter was planning to move in with the couple at their Pinetown home this weekend.
“We were worried about him living alone. My wife was so excited about him moving in. She kept speaking about it. She was preparing his bedroom and now this happened.
“Why couldn’t they take what they wanted and leave him?”
Fourie described Potgieter as a wise man who was always helpful.
A neighbour said: “He always greeted me and asked how I was doing. I was surprised to see police cars. He was a lovely man.”
Police spokesman Vincent Mdunge said Potgieter’s car was found at a house in Hammarsdale, but no arrests had been made.
Meanwhile, provincial police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni was telling the media about a team of officers, “hand-picked” for their skills and training, to handle violent crime in the area. Ngobeni said that this team of 68 included members of the tactical response team (TRT), the crime intelligence unit and the Hawks.
“The TRT members are from Ulundi, Port Shepstone and Pietermaritzburg and the detectives from the eThekwini precinct,” she said.
The team would be stationed in the Outer West area for a month, said the commissioner, during which time she wanted the crime there dealt with.
After a month, police would assess the situation and present their findings to Ngobeni. She would then decide what additional resources were needed in the area.
The police would work with the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court, where chief prosecutor Amy Kistasamy said violent crimes would be brought to the attention of court managers and allocated to specific prosecutors. She would also appeal for a special court to be set up to deal solely with these matters.
“We urge the public to share information about and testify against these brazen thugs,” Ngobeni said.
The Mercury
