The owner of the property which has mounted cameras that captured the apparent hit and murder of a Limpopo lecturer regrets sharing the video with police.
The woman, who could not be identified because of safety concerns, said her family has been living in fears since the 22-second clip of the brutal murder of Prof Saber Mohammed Tayob has been making rounds on social media following his murder on Sunday morning.
The video, which clearly identifies the homeowner's property, shows Prof Tayob jogging at around 6.30am along Munnik Road in the Sterpark suburb of Polokwane. Then a white VW Polo suddenly pulls up next to him and a man gets out and shoots him several times before getting back into the vehicle which speeds off.
Prof Tayob, who is a charted accountant, was the director of the school of accountancy at the University of Limpopo and is believed to have worked for several firms as an auditor.
The woman who provided the CCTV footage to the police on Sunday now says she regrets her decision. She said she was shocked when she started seeing it on social media on Monday.
“We are now afraid that the killers involved may come after my family because our property can easily be identified from the footage. All we wanted to do was to assist the police with their investigation and not to put my family's life in danger. I really regret trying to help them because I thought it was a good thing to do,” she said.
However, police said they shouldn't be blamed for the leak as they had more footage of the same incident.
Brig Motlafela Mojapelo said: “The footage that is making rounds is not what the police have. Anything is possible with social media and now it appears as if we are careless with the information and help we are getting from the public to crack this case.
“The investigators are hard at work tracing the suspect involved in this matter and have no time to be leaking such important element that is assisting with investigations.”
He said they have not received any formal complaints from people who provided them with different footages.
James Maleka, who works as a gardener in one of the properties on the same street, said the incident has left many locals in shock.
“I saw the footage on my phone. I was shocked that a jogger can be killed in that nature. Since the incident happened I'm so vigilant that when I see a suspicious vehicle I go inside the yard for my safety,” he said.
The Polokwane police are pleading with anyone with information that can lead to the arrest of the suspects to contact W/O Joseph Malebana on 072-492-9635 or the Crime Stop number 08600-10111.
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