A man, believed to be a vagrant living in the Pietermaritzburg CBD, was stabbed to death on Monday.
The stabbing incident happened after a fight broke out among vagrants over noise resulting in one of them losing his life.
It is alleged that Sandile Gasa, originally from Snathing in Pietermaritzburg, arrived where they usually sleep on Church Street on Monday around 1 am carrying empty cans.
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An argument then broke out between him and another vagrant due to the noise made by cans.
The suspect allegedly woke up and stabbed Gasa and then walked away. Gasa was found lying on his back with one stab wound to the chest.
An ambulance was called and he was declared dead at the scene.
Msunduzi Municipality Ward 27 councillor Daniel Kemp said incidents like these vary as it may be drug-related or theft.
“There has been an increase in vagrant violence which has led to serious injuries and deaths, this should not be a norm, sadly due to capacity and not having boots on the ground this will only increase and contact crimes will only get worse,” said Kemp.
He added that this portrays a city in disarray and the inability to control the ever-increasing crimes occurring on our streets regardless of private security companies and law enforcement.
“We have failed to ensure the safety of all residents in Msunduzi. There are solutions which the private sector has introduced and various facilities where rehabilitation can occur, we have NGO’s that are more capable of ensuring the continuation of such services. Public and private partnerships need to be strengthened,” he added.
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uMgungundlovu District SAPS spokesperson Sergeant Sifisp Gwala said a murder case has been opened for investigation. He added that no one has been arrested yet.
