Residents are shaken following the death of a veteran actor Chris “Bra Spokes” April. The 83-year-old actor died on 31 March due to the injuries he suffered after he was attacked at his home in Mau Mau Nyanga.
According to family spokesman Johnson Puza, the veteran actor was attacked by intruders while he was sleeping inside his house on 06 February. One of the suspects who have already been arrested in connection with the incident is a young man that Chris grooming to be an actor.
Since the attack in February Chris who had suffered head injuries passed away on March 31st at Mitchell’s Plain District Hospital. Puza said the attack happened when there was no electricity. “They broke in his house during loadshedding time around 4am, they took his items and when they were about leave he recognised one of them hence they came back and injured him badly,” he added.
Puza said, before his uncle was attacked, the deceased had recognised one of the intruders hence they went back to beat him up. Puza said while the veteran actor was at the hospital, he told them who his attacker was.
“He saw managed to identify one of the intruders and called him by his name. As soon they realized that he saw them, they went back and brutally attacked leaving him seriously injured,” he adds.
Resident Kholisa Mgqolozana said the actor was killed for his kindness. “The boy he was grooming to be an actor allegedly killed him. It is clear that he used his visits at Chris’s house not to learn but to find ways to break in. If he never helped him, he would have been alive. He was killed because of his kind act,” she said.
The deceased was living with a family member who was not home at the time of the incident. “Unfortunately, on the day he was attacked, our cousin who lives with him was not at home, he had gone for a night shift. He was found unconscious at his home in the morning following the attack and was rushed to the hospital. He was assisted and he seemed stable. He even spoke to us about the incident, he knew who had attacked him. He would talk about going home to take care of his three dogs, but as time went on, he couldn’t talk,” says Puza.
Phuza says what is sad is that tata Chris took one of the suspects from the streets and started teaching him acting. It was not the first time that the actor’s home was broken into. “Last year, someone broke into his home and stole his stuff, but my uncle was certain that the person knew about the house. One of the suspects now confessed that it was them who broke into the house last year,” said Puza.
The Nyanga Community Policing Forum chairperson, Dumisa Qwabe, says this is a wake up call in ensuring safety and protection for elderly people.
“We as the CPF and other community structures we need to make sure justice for him is served, we can’t have elderly person to be attacked as a mosquito,” said Qwebe.
Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie confirmed two men, aged 16 and 20 years old, were arrested in connection with the incident.
The veteran actor will be buried on Saturday 13 April.
