Siyabonga Sanderson who is accused of killing his grandfather and buried him in a shallow grave at their home.
- A 22-year-old man allegedly killed his grandfather after being reprimanded for bringing his girlfriend into their home.
- The man made his first appearance in court on Friday and said he would not need a lawyer and would also not be applying for bail.
- His case has been postponed to January 2023 for further investigations.
The family of a 22-year-old man who is accused of killing
his grandfather said they never expected their own flesh and blood could be the
cause of their grief.
On Friday, Siyabonga Sanderson appeared in the Kabokweni
Magistrate’s Court, outside Mbombela in Mpumalanga, on charges of murder and
defeating the ends of justice.
He was arrested in connection with the murder of his
grandfather, Albert, 75, whose body was exhumed at their home by police on
Thursday.
Siyabonga’s uncle, Aubrey, told News24 that the family was
still shocked by the allegations that his nephew faced.
“If a stranger did this, maybe it would make sense. We
don’t understand how our child did [allegedly] this. We are in deep pain,”
he said.
Aubrey said as a family, they left Siyabonga to live with
his grandfather so he could take care of him.
Aubrey said:
We expected him to protect his grandfather, but unfortunately, he [allegedly] did the opposite. Crime is high, and we thought having a young man like him in the yard would scare off criminals, not knowing that the criminal will [allegedly] come from inside the house.
According to Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy
Mohlala, it is alleged that the two had a fistfight, where Siyabonga hit his
grandfather and pushed him towards the door.
Mohlala said it was alleged the grandfather had reprimanded
his grandson for bringing his girlfriend into the home.
He said Aubrey became suspicious when he tried in vain to
call his father on Wednesday.
Mohlala said a fellow shepherd had raised the alarm when he
saw the old man’s cattle roaming around, with the owner nowhere to be seen.
READ | Daughter handed life sentence for orchestrating mother’s murder
When Uncle Aubrey went to his home to establish if there
were any issues with his father, he discovered that there appeared to be what
looked like a heaped grave in the backyard.
“When he asked his nephew, he said they were digging
cassava plants. The uncle suggested they go and check; that’s when the nephew
suggested they go to the police, and he would tell them where the grandfather
was.
Police exhume the body of Albert Sanderson, 75, from a shallow grave. He was killed, allegedly by his 22-year-old grandson.
“They then went to the station where he brought up the
ordeal. He took the police to the scene and did a pointing out,” Mohlala
said.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in
Mpumalanga, Monica Nyuswa, said during Sanderson’s brief appearance, he told
the court that he would conduct his own defence and not bring any bail
application.
Nyuswa said that should Sanderson bring a bail application,
the state would oppose it due to the seriousness of the offence.
Sanderson remains in custody, and his case was postponed to
30 January 2023 for further investigation.
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