Update
MOSSEL BAY NEWS - The mother of University of Johannesburg student, Sisipho Kanuka (20), one of two young men fatally stabbed in Dube Street, Asla Park, on 17 November, spoke to Mossel Bay Advertiser this week about her heartbreak.
Kanuka, who would have entered his fourth year as an accounting student in 2025, was assaulted and stabbed multiple times while out with his cousin in the early hours of 17 November.
Just after 08:00 that morning, Jason-Kirk Damon (23), was stabbed multiple times in Dube Street and died later that day in Mossel Bay Provincial Hospital.
One person has been arrested for Damon's murder and another, an 18-year-old schoolboy, has been arrested for Kanuka's murder.
While KwaNonqaba Police Station spokesperson Warrant Officer Kappie Kapp said investigations into the two incidents are ongoing and that the cases have not yet been linked, it has been revealed that Kanuka's cousin, who was with him at the time of his death, was arrested in connection with Damon's murder.
Sisipho Kanuka had just finished his
third year as an accounting student,
when he died. Photo: Supplied
Kanuka's mother, Delicia Kanuka, said Sisipho and his cousin Aphelele Kanuka, who is currently in police custody, grew up as brothers and she saw Aphelele as her son.
Delicia said her heart is broken, with the violent death of her son and her nephew, Aphelele, being in police custody. She said Sisipho had recently finished writing his exams and was visiting his mother and other family in Asla Park.
She said he didn't know the area very well, as he was born and bred in Gauteng. "He was very clever. I was so proud of him," said Delicia.
She said Sisipho and Aphelele had gone out on Saturday, 16 November, to a party. She was asleep and her phone was charging when she heard a knock at her gate in the early hours of Sunday. It was the police.
She went with them to Dube Street, where she found Sisipho, lying in a pool of blood with several wounds on his body and rocks near him. Kapp said Sisipho was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical services. Delicia said she was told by Aphelele that when the two were leaving the party, a crowd began to began to fight with him and Sisipho tried to break up the scuffle.
The two were then chased and got separated. "He didn't know the area and that is why they were able to catch up with him," said Delicia.
Sisipho Kanuka. Photo: Supplied
"Sisipho was shy and respectful. He loved sport, especially soccer, and he was close to me and his siblings. He always wanted to help me around the house. On Saturday, he promised he was going to cook me a meal on Sunday," she said.
His funeral is in the Eastern Cape tomorrow, Saturday, 30 November. Aphelele was expected to appear in court again on Thursday, 28 November, for a formal bail application, however it was postponed to 4 December.
The 18-year-old schoolboy, charged in connection with the murder of Sisipho, has since been released from police custody, into the custody of his parents. It was not known by the time of going to print when the schoolboy would appear in court again.
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