The family of a man who burnt to death believe his shack was set alight by gangsters in Worcester.
And they say the men behind Gershwin Neethling’s death were actually after his brother Curt Damons.
Marinda Jonkers, 51, says the smell of smoke woke her up shortly before 5am on Sunday.
“We could hear him screaming and shouting, asking somebody to help him. By the time we managed to move away a bin that was blocking the door, he had flames all over him,” says Marinda.
Marinda says it’s a miracle that pamphlets of her other son Wayne’s funeral and his death certificate didn’t burn.
“There isn’t even a mark on it but I lost everything else,” she adds.
The family now believes somebody blocked the door to prevent Gershwin’s escape from the blaze.
“The bin was up against the door. He couldn’t have put it there,” says Gershwin’s stepmom Janille Jonkers, 33.
Gershwin was rushed to hospital where his family were told to prepare themselves for the worst.
“He was burnt all over from his head to his toes,” says Marinda.
Janille says they now fear for their lives.
“We don’t sleep at home because we’re scared they might come back,” she explains.
She says Gershwin was not a gangster, and was still playing with his one-month old baby on Saturday night.
But police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk says: “An unidentified man burnt beyond recognition in a shack fire in Worcester. No foul play is suspected at this stage. An inquest docket has been opened for investigation,” he adds.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.