Murky death - 'Look in the river'
2005-06-23
Malané Bosman
A BROWN envelope with the words ‘Look in the river’ was the last communication left by a man who put a revolver to his head on the bank of the Berg River in Paarl on Tuesday.
Had a stroller not witnessed the tragedy, the police would no doubt have found the envelope that had been tucked under a windscreen wiper of an abandoned white Toyota Carolla.
Leo Mgidi (52) of 2394 Phola Park, Mbekweni, parked the car near the pedestrian bridge to the arboretum and scrambled down the grass verge to the concrete walkway.
He sat down, dangled his legs in the murky water, leant forward and pulled the trigger.
Anthony Johnson of Paarl East, who seconds earlier had wondered why the stranger would wet his fine leather shoes, saw the body and the firearm tumble into the fast-flowing river.
The Boulevard and river bank soon swarmed with emergency personnel and onlookers.
Police diver Theo Kruger started the search for the body. Mgidi was found about 30m downstream and the pistol near the spot where he had fallen into the water.
Mgidi, a construction clerk who came to Mbekweni with his parents and siblings 40 years ago, leaves his wife, five young children and a grandchild.
“We are devastated,” his brother Turnock said while making arrangments for the memorial service.
“Leo was devoted to his family and they suspected nothing when he left for work as usual that morning.
"His wife and especially the children will need a lot of support.”
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