A grieving son has voiced his frustration over what he perceives as a slow-moving investigation into his mother’s brutal murder in Athlone.
Sultana Begum Abdullah Ulde, 66, was found dead in her Rylands home on 26 April. Her son, Yaseen Parker, discovered her lifeless body hours after the incident. Their residence is situated on the same property as their family-run tyre business.
Yaseen recounted the harrowing moment he returned home from work that fateful Friday afternoon.
“Everything was open, the back gate and the office door were open. The house was ransacked, everything was turned upside down, they broke the cupboards, went through everything, clothes were on the floor,” he said.
“I was so shocked by the state of the room and couldn’t see that my mother was by my feet. It was more than one person who did this, by the look of the house.”
Initially, Yaseen feared his mother had been kidnapped.
“I ran next door and told them (neighbours) she was missing. They came home with me and one of them shouted, ‘Yaseen you have to come and see here.’ He discovered my mother on the floor, she was beaten up, she bled to death.”
He speculated about the motive behind the attack.
“I don’t know if they wanted the safe key and then attacked her. There was so much blood, it was a difficult scene to see. The suspects robbed us.”
Nearly three weeks have passed since the murder, and Yaseen expresses discontent with the progress of the investigation by Athlone police.
“The detective doesn’t even answer the phone sometimes, they haven’t found anything. Three phones were stolen and none have been tracked.”
Yaseen highlighted issues with how evidence was handled.
“I preserved the crowbar that was on the scene and watched the police touch it with their bare hands. Our own fingerprints were not taken to eliminate us from the crime scene.”
His dissatisfaction with the current detective has led him to seek a change.
“This has not given me enough faith in this detective, and I would like a new detective to take over the case. I tried to get hold of the station commander and I was told that he was on leave.”
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.
“There are no developments to report to the media at this stage. The investigation into this matter is still ongoing.”
The family and community continue to seek answers and justice for Sultana Begum Abdullah Ulde, hoping that the investigation will soon yield results.
