MOSSEL BAY - The 23-year-old man taken in for questioning and later released from custody over Nhlamulo Sambo’s murder is upset that his name has been sullied.
The Nonqaba resident in Mossel Bay spoke exclusively to eNCA, saying he was framed.
He said he had been walking with a friend to a house they were looking after over the weekend.
"He (Sambo) and another kid came out running and so my friend and I chased him," he said.
Another group of people came from somewhere else and started attacking. Sambo and his friend ran away and could be heard apologising to their attackers.
When we returned to the scene, Sambo was lying injured on the ground.
"I asked if anyone had called the police and two women who were standing answered positively, saying they had," he said.
"I found out in the morning that I had allegedly killed someone," he adds.
Initial reports alleged that Sambo was killed in Mossel Bay for being Tsonga-speaking. However, Western Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile said preliminary investigations suggest that it was a robbery gone wrong.
Sambo's mother, Mikateko, disputes the police's version of events, saying her child was not caught stealing.
READ: 'It's a fake story', Hlamulo Sambo's mother says son not a 'tsotsi'
The attack sent waves in the area as other non-Xhosa-speaking people in the community expressed fear that they too would be attacked in the same manner.
The man accused was set to appear at the Mossel Bay Magistrate's Court on Friday. However, his matter was not enrolled on the court roll.
"I told my lawyer and the officer what happened and I was told that I could go home," he said.
He was released due to a lack of evidence for the murder. He has been told to return to the police station on Monday to clear his fingerprints.