EFF Councillor, Paulnita Marais, says the living conditions of the residents at the Omega Old Age Home are worrying.

Marais says 78-year-old Ruth Tsintsing’s death was only discovered by her son on the morning of the incident when a stranger answered her phone after he tried calling her.

She was allegedly strangled in her own room on 21 March.

“Ma Ruth’s door lock was faulty and could not lock properly. She reported this on various instances to John Matladi, a Mangaung municipal official charged with housing, and to members of Omega Board, but nothing was done about it. Her killers had no problem accessing her room,” she says.

Tsintsing was not a formal resident at the old age home but had lived there for the past twenty years after her house in Batho location was sold fraudulently.

She had been struggling to retain the property since and had also lodged a complaint with the office of the Public Protector, which is still investigating the case.

Meanwhile, Executive Mayor of the Mangaung Metro, Olly Mlamleli, has criticised the EFF for politicising the death.

Mlamleli says the comments made by opposition members are opportunistic and insensitive towards the family of the deceased.

Mlamleli says she condemns the crime as well as the opposition’s comments.

“They’ll always play around with death cases but they are like that. They usually use death as if it’s something that will bring them votes. How can death bring votes?”

Marais explained that the Mangaung Municipality exercises the control over the management and governance of Omega through a municipal official.

Although occupants have to be at least 65 years old to stay at the village it has been housing other families that were allocated there on a temporary basis since 2013.

OFM News