THE family of veteran actor Chris "Bra Spokes" April demand justice.
They said he was allegedly attacked by two criminals who broke into his Cape Town home in February 2024, assaulted him and stole his belongings and that he was repeatedly hospitalised afterwards.
Bra Spokes (84), who was well-known in many Mzansi films and played the role of a sangoma in Mama Jack, among others, died on Sunday, 31 March 2024.
The family believes his death comes after he was allegedly attacked by criminals, although post-mortem results revealed that he died of natural causes.
Family spokeswoman, Annie Puza told Daily Sun Bra Spokes died from injuries sustained when he was attacked during the robbery.
"He was hospitalised and discharged after the attack, but since then he was in and out of hospital until his last day. It hurts us when the doctors say his death was natural, even though we know his death was as a result of the serious assault," he said.
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He said the two suspects were arrested and charged with theft and assault, but the family wanted the assault charge changed to murder.
"Fortunately, after the suspects robbed him, they were arrested by patrolling police and charged with theft. After Chris was released from hospital, we opened an assault case. Now that he's dead, we're pushing for the assault charge to be changed to murder because the act led to his death," he said.
Bra Spokes will be buried in Nyanga East in Cape Town on Saturday, 13 April.
He also starred in Blended, Accidents, Zulu, and Mama Jack, among others.
Nyanga Community Police Forum spokesman Dumisani Qwabe said they were devastated by the death of the veteran actor.
"Losing baba Chris April is hard, he was one of our role models in Nyanga. The incident that happened to him is a wake-up call that we as a community need to be proactive in ensuring the safety of the elderly," Qwabe said.
Western Cape spokesman Malcolm Pojie said two young men, aged 16 and 20, had been arrested in connection with the incident. He said they had already appeared in the Athlone Magistrates Court on Friday, 5 April 2024.
April will be buried at Maitland Cemetery on Saturday, 13 April 2024. His memorial service was held at Zolani Centre in Nyanga on April 10, and was attended by various actors and dignitaries.
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