Son (16) arrested after mother stabbed to death – drugs to blame, says small Cape Town community

Authorities arrested a 16-year-old boy accused of murdering his mother in Nomzamo, Strand, on the outskirts of Cape Town on Monday, 23 October.

The incident has sent shockwaves through the small community of Nomzamo, named after the late struggle icon Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. 

Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said the circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

“Lwandle police opened a murder case on Monday morning following the death of a 46-year-old woman who was found with a stab wound to the neck in her home situated in Nomzamo. A 16-year-old juvenile was arrested and is due to appear in the Strand Magistrates’ Court soon once he is charged.” 

Drugs are suspected to have triggered the teen’s actions and his family admitted that he smokes crystal methamphetamine, widely known as tik in Cape Town’s streets.

Family members interviewed by Daily Maverick cannot be named as the incident involves a minor. 

The teen’s uncle said he received a call around 4am on Monday that something had happened to his sister. 

When he arrived at the house, he was met by scores of people, who had come to hear about the brutal murder of the 46-year-old woman, allegedly by her only son. 

“When I got here, he told us different versions of what really happened,” the distraught uncle said. 

“The blood had dried, which meant that my sister was killed before midnight and the boy slept next to the dead body until the morning when he went to tell the neighbours about an intruder.” 

He claimed when police arrived, they stripped the teen and found bloodstains on his body. After a brief interrogation by the police, the teen took out the knife that he allegedly used to murder his mother. 

“He had already washed the knife and I must reveal that my sister tried everything she could to save the boy. He was on drugs and he was always absent from school. My sister cared for her son. She bought him nice clothes and always protected him, but today the same son is responsible for her death. This death is hard for us to process.” 

At the time of the woman’s death, the family had just returned from burying the boy’s grandmother in the Eastern Cape. The family will now prepare for another funeral to be held in the Eastern Cape. 

‘Tragic incident’