‘HE DIED AT THE PLACE THAT BROUGHT HIM HAPPINESS’

AFSAR Khan loved fishing.

He and his dad Yacoob often headed for the Weir Dam in Newcastle to unwind.

But last Tuesday morning the 31-year-old’s body was found about 10 metres from the river bank.

He was attacked and hit over the head with a blunt object the night before.

Khan died alone at the dam where he enjoyed nothing better than reeling in a big catch.

Three men were arrested shortly thereafter in Msinga, about 200km away, in the deceased’s car.

A case of murder and robbery is being investigated. KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni said she hoped the suspects are given a harsh sentence if found guilty of murder.

Speaking about his son’s death, Khan senior said: “Afsar left home at around 4pm last Monday. He said he was going fishing. When he did not return home a few hours later, I got worried. I called him but there was no answer. I then called his brother and sister to enquire if they heard from him but they had not.

“My wife and I then drove to the dam to look for him but we could not find him nor locate his car. We did not sleep that night. I returned to the dam the next morning and searched again for him but still could not find him.”

Khan senior said he was about to call the police when they contacted him.

“I was told they found Afsar’s car in Msinga and that three men were taken in for questioning. I was then advised to open a missing person’s report but before I could do so, I received word that his body had been found.”

The former school teacher said he and his family are struggling to come to terms with the death.

“I walked through that area twice mostly looking for his car. I did not think to look for a body.” Khan senior said his son, a process controller at a chemical company, was born and raised in Newcastle and that he had taken him to the dam to fish since childhood. “He died in the place that brought him happiness.”

He was buried last Tuesday night at the Newcastle Muslim Cemetery.