NEWS & ANALYSIS

"Road rage!" – Daily Sun

"Killion opened the boom gate – then all hell broke loose!" – front page lead, June 23 2015

Daily Sun (June 23 2015) - AT FIRST Killion thought his neighbour was joking when he put in a boom.

But when Killion opened the gate and drove to his house, that was a big mistake.

HIS NEIGHBOUR WANTS TO KILL HIM FOR USING THE ROAD!

“My neighbour was the only one who had a car and he built a roadway for it,” said Killion Mthimunye (24) from Princess squatter camp in Joburg.

“And he doesn’t want me to use the road so he put up a boom gate. He said I should build my own road for my car, a Mazda 323.”

Killion said there was no other road he could use and there was no way he could build a new driveway because there are trees and holes everywhere.

“So I continued to use the road,” he said.

Killion said he arrived home on Saturday night to find a gate blocking his path.

“It was late and I was tired. When I saw that fake gate I got out of my car, opened the gate and drove in. But that was a big mistake.

“We were getting ready to go to bed when my neighbour paid us a visit. He came armed with petrol and a gun,” said Killion.

“He poured petrol on my front door and my car and then set fire to it.”

Killion said when he tried to open his door, his neighbour fired shots at him.

“Luckily the bullets missed me. One bullet got stuck in the doorpost,” he said.

The neighbours came running when they heard the gunshot and the screaming and came running.

“My neighbour ran away and we stopped the fire,” said Killion.

“The car was just starting to burn and the doorpost is steel.”

Killion said he doesn’t know what his neighbour wants.

“Does this mean everyone who buys a car here should build a road for themselves? This guy wanted to burn us alive. Maybe there’s more to this than just a road.”

The neighbour then disappeared from Princess and police were looking for him.

Community leader Catharine Stuffet told Daily Sun they were not happy with the neighbour’s actions.

“No one owns the land here and nobody has cars. The neighbour can’t claim the property for himself,” she said.

Catharine told Daily Sun they have taken Killion and his family to a place where they will be safe until they are sure all the suspects are caught by the police.

Honeydew cluster spokeswomen Warrant Officer Karen Jacobs, said a case of attempted murder was opened at the Roodepoort SAPS.

“A 26-year-old male was charged and arrested for attempted murder and appeared in the Roodepoort magistrates court on 18 June.

“No court date is available yet,” she said.

She said they are also looking for a second suspect and the investigating officer is following up leads.

The first suspect is still in custody and did not get bail.

See the Daily Sun’s new website for more on this and other stories....

 

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 274 165 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2nd Quarter 2014) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

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