tshepiso.tshabalala@inl.co.za
A bereaved family is seeking answers following the death of their son, Nhlakanipho Gumede, who was allegedly assaulted by a security guard at a bank in Tongaat last month.
The Gumede family heard about the incident from a passer-by who knew the young man. According to the victim's elder brother, Jan Gumede, the 29-year-old had been sent to Capitec’s Tongaat branch in KwaZulu-Natal by his father on Friday, October 29, to deposit money for his family.
"My dad gave my brother R1000 to send home – it was five R200 bank notes. Later, when my dad called the family to check if they had received the money, he was told that they only got R500.
“The following morning, when Nhlaka came back from his gig, our dad asked him why the money was short. Nhlaka said he sent all of it and there must be a mistake. He said he would go back to the bank to find out how this happened," said Jan.
The victim is said to have left the house he shared with his father and brother in Durban around 8am on the Saturday morning. When he (Nhlakanipho) got to the bank, he asked for the manager and explained his story. The manager told him that the person who assisted him was off duty and asked that he come back on the following Tuesday.
Jan Gumede said Nhlakanipho had insisted that they give him something in writing to show his father that it was the bank's mistake and not his. He also asked the manager to check the CCTV footage to see what really happened the day before when he was busy with the teller.
However, his request fell on deaf ears and an argument ensued. The manager then called one of their security guards. When the security guard arrived, he asked no questions and allegedly proceeded to hit the victim multiple times on the head with his baton.
"I don't understand why the bank employees felt the need to call a security guard who was 5km away, whereas there is a police station opposite the bank. If my brother was such a threat, why didn't they just call the police?
“My brother was hit multiple times until he fell on the floor, powerless. They left him for dead, they did not even bother to call an ambulance or anything. I was called by a passer-by, who told me that my brother was dying. I had to rush from work to the scene," said Jan.
An eyewitness at the scene said the security guard aimed for the victim’s head. Other customers tried to intervene, but he pushed them away and continued to assault the victim until his head looked cracked open on the right side.
The guard disappeared after the man fell on the floor, and clients at the bank tried to call an ambulance, while others gave Gumede water because he had lost a lot of blood.
Nhlakanipho was taken to Tongaat clinic by his brother-in-law; Jan Gumede remained at the bank to try get details of what happened from staff.
The nurses at the clinic said the victim’s wounds were so severe that he needed urgent hospital treatment. They stabilised him and then transferred him to Addington Hospital.
"While we were trying to get the full story of what had happened, the police arrived and requested that we go to the boardroom to talk, but the manager refused. The police then took us to the station where statements from the bank’s staff were taken.
“Two police officers went to the clinic to check if those statements matched my brother's injuries. Upon their arrival there, they realised that Nhlaka's injuries were bad and [he] could die at any time.
“When they came back, a docket was opened. We then left the police station to go back to the clinic where my father waited for an ambulance to take my brother to hospital. Shortly after that, I went back to work," said Jan Gumede.
It took several hours for the ambulance to arrive at the clinic. While operating on him, the doctors at the hospital realised that his blood had started clotting and caused damage to his brain. He was put on life support after the operation.
Jan Gumede said the hospital called the family after midnight to let them know that they needed to come in the morning to switch off the life support machine.
While the victim’s father was getting ready to visit his son, the hospital called and told him his son had died of his injuries.
“This really broke our hearts. Nhlaka was too young to die like this. It doesn’t make sense, now his son is left without a father,” said his distraught brother.
The security guard was arrested and charged with murder. He appeared in court on Tuesday.
“A 40-year-old man was arrested for murder. He appeared in the Verulam Magistrate’s Court,” said Captain Gwala.
Capitec bank said it was shocked and deeply saddened by the incident and it does not condone any form of violent behaviour.
“We are also in direct contact with Mr Gumede’s family during this difficult time. We do not condone the use of violence in any form or behaviour that goes against our company values. We have offered counselling to our staff and clients who were there and experienced the event.”
The Gumede family has since declined Capitec’s offer for counselling. Jan said the least they could have done was to assist them with the burial, but they didn’t. The family said they would be taking legal action against the bank.
Sunday Independent