A Panorama family is mourning the murder of their 72-year-old father, who was considered to have died a hero after being tied up and suffocated during a violent house invasion.
Husain Mukadam was laid to rest yesterday after being killed in the early hours of Tuesday by three unknown persons who broke into his home on President Brand Crescent about 1 a.m.
Mukadam was with his wife when the tragedy occurred. She was likewise tied up, but she lived.
His distraught son, Mustafa Mukadam, alleged that the suspects entered through an unguarded place in the garden.
He claimed they jumped through three yards to get to his house.
“He wasn’t shot; what happened was that there was a major struggle,” said a grief-stricken Mustafa.
“My parents live on one side of the house, which is interconnected by a door, and my family is on the other side.
“They basically tied his arms and his feet with bed sheets and put something in his mouth.
“When I found him, he was lying on his stomach and had his face flat on the floor.”
Mustafa said his mother managed to set herself free.
“They didn’t scream for help because they probably didn’t want me to come from my side.
“I think my dad was a hero who knew I had three small children.
“This happened between 1am and 2am, and I went into their house at 7am because my dad took my children to school every day.
“It was the school-run time, my mother heard my wife talking to my daughter and she crawled into the kitchen and untied her feet, and she came and opened the door.”
“He couldn’t really fight anyone, he was an elderly man. My parents are pensioners.”
The suspects stole a TV and TV box but Mustafa said they still needed to ascertain what else was missing from the home.
“I stayed in Parow Valley for 20 years but in the past five or six years, there was a massive change.
“This shows that you have to protect your property at all times, especially from opportunistic guys.
“We are working people and my parents are pensioners, if this was an organised crime, they would not have waited until we fell asleep, they would have come even during the day to attack.
“These are skollies (petty criminals), there have been a lot of burglaries in the area.”
The ward councillor in Panorama, Cheryl Visser, sent her condolences to the family.
“My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and loved ones affected by this senseless crime.
“The safety and security of our community remain a top priority, and I will continue to advocate for enhanced measures to protect our residents,” Visser said.
Parow Community Policing Forum chairperson Shakir Smith said that housebreaking incidents happened from time to time.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said Parow officers registered murder and house robbery cases for investigation.
“According to reports, the victim and her family were asleep in their home when unknown suspects entered the premises and tied the victims up.
Anyone with any information about this incident is kindly requested to contact Crime Stop at 08600 10111.
