{"id":20908,"date":"2014-11-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-02T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/echonews.sites.caxton.co.za\/20908\/godfrey-murdered\/"},"modified":"2014-11-06T08:48:06","modified_gmt":"2014-11-06T06:48:06","slug":"godfrey-murdered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2014\/11\/03\/godfrey-murdered\/","title":{"rendered":"Godfrey murdered"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>His murder comes as a shock, as few people would ever think of harming the little man, let alone kill him.<\/p>\n<p>Godfrey was born in Sehlakwane village in Limpopo, his life then began and ended in Middelburg.<\/p>\n<p>Godfrey was known for being talkative and attracting large crowds of people because of his incredibly small body.<\/p>\n<p>He made his mark in October 2005, when Tshwenyane Combined School visited the Middelburg Observer.<\/p>\n<p>A play was held &#8220;Puma and Ma&#8221; for the school and Godfrey stole the spotlight.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-20908 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2014\/11\/03\/godfrey-murdered\/attachment\/olympus-digital-camera-3\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey-LL-ZN1-200x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey-LL-ZN1-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey-LL-ZN1-423x317.jpg 423w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey-LL-ZN1-50x37.jpg 50w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey-LL-ZN1-650x487.jpg 650w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey-LL-ZN1-177x133.jpg 177w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey-LL-ZN1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2014\/11\/03\/godfrey-murdered\/attachment\/olympus-digital-camera-4\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey2-LL-ZN1-200x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey2-LL-ZN1-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey2-LL-ZN1-423x317.jpg 423w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey2-LL-ZN1-50x37.jpg 50w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey2-LL-ZN1-650x487.jpg 650w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey2-LL-ZN1-177x133.jpg 177w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey2-LL-ZN1.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2014\/11\/03\/godfrey-murdered\/attachment\/olympus-digital-camera-6\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey4-LL-ZN-200x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey4-LL-ZN-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey4-LL-ZN-423x317.jpg 423w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey4-LL-ZN-50x37.jpg 50w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey4-LL-ZN-650x487.jpg 650w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey4-LL-ZN-177x133.jpg 177w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/godfrey4-LL-ZN.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2014\/11\/03\/godfrey-murdered\/attachment\/img_4653-ll-zn\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4653-LL-ZN-200x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4653-LL-ZN-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4653-LL-ZN-423x317.jpg 423w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4653-LL-ZN-50x37.jpg 50w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4653-LL-ZN-650x487.jpg 650w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4653-LL-ZN-177x133.jpg 177w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4653-LL-ZN.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2014\/11\/03\/godfrey-murdered\/attachment\/img_4659-ll-zn\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4659-LL-ZN-200x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4659-LL-ZN-200x150.jpg 200w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4659-LL-ZN-423x317.jpg 423w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4659-LL-ZN-50x37.jpg 50w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4659-LL-ZN-650x487.jpg 650w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4659-LL-ZN-177x133.jpg 177w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2014\/10\/IMG_4659-LL-ZN.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&#8220;Godfrey&#8217;s interaction with Puma made the show all the more interesting,&#8221; said Middelburg Observer&#8217;s former journalist, Thokozane Magagula.<\/p>\n<p>He was also known for his champagne personality.<\/p>\n<p>The Middelburg Observer visited his home in Mhluzi Extension 7 on Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>His uncle, Joe Masilela, recalls when he was much younger and smaller, he used to carry him around in his jacket&#8217;s pocket.<\/p>\n<p>He was at home two weeks ago and his family had no idea of his movements.<\/p>\n<p>The family last heard he was in Avalon, Mhluzi, dressed in a pink suit a week ago.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He would just phone and tell us, he is at the mall drinking,&#8221; says Ms Masilela.<\/p>\n<p>When Ms Masilela was informed that the police were looking for her, she did not even think it would have anything to do with her son.<\/p>\n<p>She did not believe the news of his death, until she saw the bruised lifeless body of her son.<\/p>\n<p>Godfrey had a green and white rope tied around his neck. He also had chest, head, face and body scratches and broken ribs.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He was brutally killed,&#8221; said Ms Masilela.<\/p>\n<p>The post mortem results where not released by the time of print.<\/p>\n<p>The police opened an inquest and are still investigating the matter.<\/p>\n<p>An eyewitness saw Godfrey early on Wednesday morning, wearing a red T-shirt with Capri pants and takkies in SADC Street, the same clothes in which his family saw him in at the mortuary.<\/p>\n<p>Two other people also saw him drinking at Jay&#8217;s Corner on the night of his death.<\/p>\n<p>The family believe he was killed because, he saw something he shouldn&#8217;t have, or was hanging out with the wrong crowd.<\/p>\n<p>The Masilela family pleads with the public to come forward with any information that can assist the police in apprehending the perpetrators.<\/p>\n<p>Godfrey Masilela who was to turn 20 in December, leaves behind his Mother, three siblings and uncle.<\/p>\n<p>Funeral arrangements where not confirmed by the time of print.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I could see from his face that he was begging his killers for mercy,&#8221; said Ms Selina Masilela, mother of Middelburg&#8217;s smallest and most popular resident, Godfrey Masilela (20), who&#8217;s body was found on the Hendrina off-ramp Wednesday morning 29 October.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1848,"featured_media":20927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"Naledi Malekane","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2885,2],"tags":[1025,9,1049,2231,2570,1976,901,1483,2571],"class_list":["post-20908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-crime-news","category-news-headlines","tag-accident","tag-local-crime-news","tag-danger","tag-death","tag-godfrey","tag-mhluzi","tag-n4","tag-trac-n4-route","tag-waring"],"category_labels":{"Category":"News","SubCategory":"Crime News"},"tag_labels":["accident","Crime","danger","death","godfrey","Mhluzi","n4","TRAC N4 Route","waring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20908"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}