A man who was busy picking avocados at a yard in Duthuni on Sunday met a sudden death, after he had slipped and fallen to the ground. The owner of the tree could not stand the sight of a corpse in her yard, so that she ended up fainting and had to be hospitalized for three days at the local hospital.

The angel of death called at her house while she was away to a local church. The incident happened at the Netshilema yard at Duthuni outside Thohoyandou. During the incident, Vhakoma Vho Ntshengedzeni Wilson Dama, who was picking avocadoes to take them to his place of employment in Soekmekaar, fell down and died on the spot.

The owner of the yard, Ms Elelwani Netshilema, said it was just unfortunate that the incident had to happen at her yard while she was away to church. “Had I been home, I would not have allowed him to climb such a tall tree. People do come and ask for avocadoes here, but I refuse and tell them to wait for the avocadoes to fall on their own as they are very far from the ground."

Netshilema said the man came to her at about 09:00 that particular Sunday and asked for avocadoes. “I was in a hurry to church and my transport was already waiting for me. I told him that it was impossible for him to get them as they were high up and we agreed that he would not pick them,” she said. She said he asked for a piece of newspaper for his tobacco and she gave this to him. She said she left for church and thought that he had gone back home.

“I was surprised to be told not go home on my way from the church as something bad had happened. I could not understand it as I had left no one at home,” she said.

Netshilema said she insisted on going home, only to be met by people and a corpse under the tall avocado tree. “I was so shocked but tried to contain myself for a while. I wondered what could have happened as I knew I had told the man not to climb the tree,” she said.

She said she had decided to cut the trees, as they would remind her of the tragedy. “I wonder why it happened at my yard. I have to cut the trees as someone could be tempted to come and pick the fruits and end up injured or even dead,” she said.

According to the information available, Dama had come back home for a weekend from his place of work at Soekmekaar and was to have returned to work on that Sunday. He had asked for permission from the owner of the avocadoes, but she refused and left for church. It is alleged that he came on his own with his child while the owner was away to church. He had already picked a lot of them when he saw some good ones, which were very high, and it was while he was trying to grab them that he slipped and fell. The child alerted neighbours to the scene and police were called. Within a short space of time, the whole yard was filled with people wanting to have a glimpse of the dead man. Later, a hearse was called and he was taken away to the mortuary.

Spokesperson of the Limpopo police in Vhembe Captain Mashudu Malelo confirmed the incident and said they had opened an inquest docket.