Natasha Prince
14 January 2009
Police are searching for a Mitchells Plain tik addict, who, in an apparent drug-crazed frenzy, allegedly burnt down his family home and then fled.
Neighbours and close relatives said they were concerned about his mental state and wanted him to return home.
The man was not violent by nature, said the neighbours who were still rattled by the incident.
Mitchells Plain police In-spector Ian Williams confirmed that police were investigating a case of arson.
Williams said the complain-ant's husband was reported to have been using drugs and was believed to have been intoxicated at the time of the incident on Sunday afternoon.
"The suspect fled the scene and is still at large," said Williams.
Neighbour Judy Cyster said she had seen the man minutes before the house went up in flames.
She said they had joked about a watermelon he had bought and he had promised to bring her some.
Cyster said she had watched her neighbour as he went into the house and locked the doors.
A short while later, she had heard the sound of glass breaking and "chopping" sounds coming from inside the house.
She had gone outside when she heard people shouting.
The man had been alone in the house. His wife and daughter were not at home.
It is believed that the man had carried piles of clothing to the lounge, the part of the house that sustained the most damage, together with the kitchen.
"I heard him breaking things and I said 'This man is going to burn that house' and my words were barely cold when I saw dark clouds of black smoke coming out," said Cyster.
Mishkah Patel, a close friend and neighbour, tried to calm the man, who was seen by some neighbours leaving the house with a bottle of turpentine and a lighter.
Dozens of neighbours ar-rived with hoses, attempting to salvage some of the furniture of the cosy house on the corner of a cul-de-sac.
The man fled on foot and reportedly approached a resident in the next street, asking to borrow a car.
But the resident, who was unaware of what had happened, did not have a vehicle available.
When the Cape Argus visited the house on Tuesday, burnt couches, children's toys and other household items were strewn across the lawn.
The doors and windows were boarded up and all the gates locked.
An officer at the Cape Town Fire Control Centre confirmed that four vehicles had been sent to the scene but three had stood down as the fire had been under control when they arrived.
Patel and Cyster said their neighbour was not violent. Cyster said he was in an "emotional state" when she saw him.
Patel said she had known him for years and "something must have snapped".
"We all just want him to come back and do the right thing and take responsibility for what happened. We will still stand by him."
The man's wife, who moved with her daughter to a relative's house, spoke briefly to the Cape Argus.
She said he was a "good husband" and was concerned about his whereabouts, but refused to comment further.
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